the staff of the Ridgewood blogRidgewood NJ, Ridgewood Police report that on Saturday June 20, 2015, an employee at a service station on Goffle Road reported that an unidentified white male, about 5’10” with short blonde hair, 19-25 years of age, wearing shorts and a tee shirt entered the business bathroom where he wiped excrement on the walls, floor and toilet. The suspect left the area in a white van. This is the fourth such incident to occur at a Ridgewood business in the last week and anyone who might be able to identify the suspect is asked to contact the detective bureau at (201) 251-4536.
JUNE 26, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
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Full council discussion needed
To the Editor:
Re: “HR addition spurs debate in Ridgewood,” The Ridgewood News, June 19, page A1.
I disagree with Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck; a discussion by all Village Council members regarding the addition of a Human Resources department was both warranted and appropriate. Any time taxpayer dollars are being spent, the full council should be given ample opportunity to openly weigh in before a decision is made.
This is not the first time Ms. Hauck has publicly suggested that an open discussion by all council members was not necessary because the majority of council members had already agreed on an issue, and this is not the first time I’ve publicly disagreed with her.
During a public meeting several weeks ago, she harshly suggested that there was no need to reopen council discussions on installing sidewalks along Clinton Avenue because the “council majority” had already agreed not to support such an endeavor. Seriously, there was no need for the full council to participate in a continued discussion on a matter related to the safety of school aged children? I think there was such a need, and so do many other taxpayers.
Councilwoman Hauck’s almost laughable suggestion that the democratic process calls for an end to open public discussion once a majority decision is reached, coupled with her continued public display of contempt and arrogance toward selected council colleagues, makes me wonder if this is the type of individual who should continue to represent the village’s taxpayers.
Boyd A. LovingRidgewood NJ, In 2011, Village Council members scheduled their official public hearing on The Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion over six (6) separate dates. The schedule was developed to insure there would be ample opportunity for members of the public to express their views of the issue, and that no individual(s) would miss out due to planned business travel/vacation, family emergency, illness, etc. The public hearing dates were: 9/13/2011, 9/19/2011, 10/13/2011, 10/24/2011, 11/22/2011, and 11/29/2011. Current Mayor Paul Aronsohn was a member of that Council.
On July 15 of this year, Village Council members expect to introduce four (4) separate ordinances related to proposed changes in the Village’s Master Plan that would permit high density housing in our Central Business District. There has been significant controversy associated with the proposed Master Plan revision.
During Wednesday evening’s Village Council Work Session, Mayor Paul Aronsohn announced the Council’s firm intent to set September 16, 2015 as the one and onlydate for their official public hearing on all four (4) “changes to Master Plan” related ordinances. That’s right folks, if you’re not around on September 16, or if the meeting room is closed off due to over crowding, you’re SOL.
So I wonder, why is Mr. Aronsohn so hell bent on pushing these Master Plan changes through to the point of scheduling just one (1) official opportunity for residents to comment? He was a primary proponent of a former Council’s plan to allow multiple opportunities for official public comment regarding The Valley Hospital expansion plan. Why the change in attitude related to high density housing in our Central Business District? What’s the rush? Am I missing something here?
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving
Another beautiful day at Graydon
June 24,2015
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Councilman Michael Sedon and his 17 month old son Hunter enjoyed a morning of play at Graydon Pool on Wednesday, June 24.
Village resident Anne Loving and her grandson Declan, who is 23 months old, joined in on the some of the fun.
Graydon Pool Memberships and Aquatic Programs
Please visit the Graydon Pool homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon to learn about membership rates, program offerings and pool amenities. Be sure to bookmark our Graydon homepage on your computer for future special events and program offerings. Opening day for Graydon Pool was Saturday, June 6th.
2015 season memberships may now be purchased online via Community Pass at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass. Be sure to refer to your online confirmation when purchase is complete for detailed information on how to obtain your photo identification badge.
Aquatic programs, including the Graydon Swim Team and instructional and recreational swim, are also available online at Community Pass, or you may review levels and print program registration forms from our Graydon homepage referenced above. Meet the Aquatic Staff and learn more on the following dates at the pool: Saturday, June 6th, 10 am to 1 pm, and Saturday, June 20th, 10 am to 1 pm.
American Red Cross Waterfront Lifeguard Training (recertification/bridging and new) is available through Ridgewood Parks and Recreation. Details/registration are also available on the Graydon Pool homepage.
JUNE 24, 2015, 3:46 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015, 5:33 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Forget chasing fires. Three Ridgewood firefighters will be chasing gold medals at the World Police and Fire Games for the next week.
Capt. Chris DuFlocq, Lt. Brendan Corcoran and Fireman Brian Peacock are among the 12,000 international athletes — all police officers and career firefighters from 70 countries — competing in the Olympics-style games in Fairfax County, Va., that begin Friday and run through July 5.
DuFlocq, a 56-year-old Midland Park resident, placed an ad in a union magazine in 2011 to pull together a soccer team. Firefighters and cops from all over the state responded. “It was more successful that I thought it would be,” he said.
The team — dubbed “N.J. Guns and Hoses” — went on to win national gold medals in 2013 and 2014. More than a dozen players practice once or twice a week and they play in tournaments throughout the year.
“We’ve got national, now we want to see if we can compete with the world,” DuFlocq said. “It’s going to be a struggle. It’s going to be some tough games.”
Corcoran, 37, of Ridgewood said he has already broken two world records. He has smashed the Guinness World Records for one-mile and half-marathon runs in full firefighter gear but he is waiting for it to be made official. He ran in 25 pounds of gear to raise awareness for firefighter fitness, as well as raise money for Code 3 for a Cure Foundation, a national non-profit charity that supports firefighters with cancer.
Fasting Moving Thunder Storm Rips through the Heights Section of Ridgewood
6/23//2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , A fast moving thunderstorm on Tuesday ripped through a two (2) square block area in the Heights section of Ridgewood shortly after 3:30 PM on Tuesday, leaving at least two (2) downed trees in its wake and knocking out power to several residences. No injuries were reported and damage to structures appeared to be minor in nature. Ridgewood PD, FD and Emergency Services units responded along with a tree crew from the Ridgewood Parks Department. Streets affected were: Waiku Road, Windsor Terrace, and Wastena Terrace.
“If you haven’t seen Citizen Kane , some consider it to be the Best Movie ever made” , PJ blogger and the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, 0n Wednesday nights from June to August 9:00pm (as soon as the sun sets and it’s dark enough to start rolling!) – The Ridgewood Guild will feature a complimentary movie for your enjoyment! Pack a picnic basket, bring your family and pull up some turf in Van Neste Park. Movies start when the sun goes down…about 9pm (8pm in August). June 10 – Star Wars June 24 – Citizen Kane July 8 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off July 22 – Momma Mia!!! (Special Event) August 5 – Murder on the Orient Express August 19th – Harry Potter .
“There’s only one person in the world who’s going to decide what I’m going to do and that’s me.” –Charles Foster Kane
On the film’s debut in 1941, the New York Times acknowledged that Citizen Kanewas “one of the great (if not the greatest) motion pictures of all time.” The paper hedged its bets, however, adding that “it was riding the crest of perhaps the most provocative publicity wave ever to float a motion picture,” and that this “pre-ordered a mental attitude.” The whirlwind surrounding the making of Citizen Kane is well known. Orson Welles, the brash prodigy of stage and radio, earned the envy and scorn of Hollywood veterans by striding onto the RKO lot with an unprecedented contract awarding him a three-picture deal, a massive budget, and the final cut of his first film—the Holy Grail of filmmaking. The controversial subject of his cinematic debut riled one of the most powerful men in the world, and upset the delicate balance of the studio system. Orson Welles earned every drop of ink written about his impending career in film.
Seventy years later, however, it’s clear that the New York Times need not have qualified its glowing review. As Times film critic A.O. Scottrecently remarked, “Citizen Kane shows Welles to be a master of genre. It’s a newspaper comedy, a domestic melodrama, a gothic romance, and a historical epic.” And it is still considered the best film ever made. In 1998, the American Film Institute polled 1,500 film professionals. The result was “100 Years… 100 Movies,” and Orson Welles’s masterpiece lorded over the list. Ten years later, the AFI commissioned another poll. Citizen Kane retained the top spot. As noted by the late, influential critic Kenneth Tynan, “Nobody who saw Citizen Kane at an impressionable age will ever forget the experience; overnight, the American cinema had acquired an adult vocabulary, a dictionary instead of a phrase book for illiterates.”
The contract that gave birth to Citizen Kane was an unthinkable gamble by RKO, but the studio had good reason to bet on Orson Welles. At 20, he lorded over Broadway, first with Voodoo Macbeth, a reworking of the “Scottish play” set in the Caribbean and starring an all-African American cast. He followed triumphant reviews by establishing the Mercury Theatre and rewriting Julius Caesar, setting it in Mussolini’s Italy. The curtain rose to universal acclaim. In a 1938 cover story,Time magazine wrote of Welles, “If the career of the Mercury Theatre, which next week will be six months old, seems amazing, the career of Orson Welles, who this week is 23, is no less so. Were Welles’s 23 years set forth in fiction form, any self-respecting critic would damn the story as too implausible for serious consideration.”
photos courtesy of the Ridgewood Police Department
June 23,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Police Department is hosting the 2nd annual Chief Michael Feeney, Jr. Police Academy scheduled from Monday June 22nd 2015 to Tuesday June30th. The academy is open to Ridgewood Residents entering 6th 7th and 8th grades in the fall of 2015.
This year’s academy will feature demonstrations from The Ridgewood Police Department, Bergen County Sheriff’s Department K-9 and Bomb Squad, Police Motorcycles, Ridgewood Emergency Services, Ridgewood Fire Department a Helicopter landing as well as demonstrations from various other agencies. A field trip to the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Complex in Mahwah is scheduled for Wednesday June 24th. This year we added a trip to see a Jackals baseball game at Montclair State University on Wednesday July 1st 2015 the day after the academy graduation, attendance is optional. The cadets will also be asked to March in the Ridgewood 4th of July Parade.
The Junior Police Academy has proven to be a valuable experience for all involved and has provided a vital link between the Police Department and the youth of Ridgewood. Further, the Junior Police Academy has afforded students a deeper understanding of the Police function as well as an increased ability to see what the Police and the community can do to serve the Village. The overwhelming success of our first Junior Police Academy class has far exceeded the expectations of everyone involved. This program attracts a highly motivated group of recruits, and the Instructors thoroughly enjoy their interaction with these young people. We look forward to another great class.
Ridgewood NJ, The 4th of July Committee has spotted this past Sunday, the first chairs out for the parade! A whooping 13 days in advance of Ridgewood’s 4th of July Celebration might be a new record!
Join Ridgewood’s July 4th Committee to help with Parade & Fireworks!
The Ridgewood Fourth of July is looking for volunteers for the Parade and Fireworks. Please volunteer as a parade marshall or for the evening program. All volunteers receive a signature Ridgewood Fourth of July t-shirt and a free ticket to the evening entertainment and fireworks. As we are a non-profit we can also offer community service hours to students. Please contact us on Facebook, at RidgewoodJuly4th.com or attend our volunteer meeting Wednesday, July 1st at 7:30 p.m. at the Firehouse. The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration is an all-volunteer organization supported entirely by private donations. Support the Tradition.
Don’t forget to donate at www.RidgewoodJuly4th.com every dollar counts. This day would not be possible without your support!!
JUNE 19, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY LUCY PROBERT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Beaches, pools and backyards may be where much of our summer fun happens, but when it’s time to take it inside, it’s all going on at the library.
Ridgewood Public Library Director Nancy Greene sees spending time there as a good antidote to too much summer screen time: “It’s like a small diverse city that never sleeps, that’s happy to welcome you seven days a week, even in summer.”
But the fun (and learning) doesn’t stop with kids and teens; grownups have lots of options to spice up their summer as well. The library offers dozens of programs for every interest. (Anyone interested in superheroes, cooking, or starting a blog?)
If anything strikes a fancy, sign up fast — spots are limited.
President Jimmy Carter to Speak at the Y
Wed, July 08, 2015
Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: YWCA Bergen County, YMCA of Ridgewood, 112 Oak St., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
YWCA Bergen County and Ridgewood YMCA, in cooperation with Bookends Bookstore, is proud to welcome former President Jimmy Carter, to the Y to discuss his new book, A Full Life.
Tickets are $33 each and include a signed copy of the book. Tickets and books are required and must be purchased in advance by visiting Bookends Bookstore at 211 Ridgewood Ave in Ridgewood or calling (201) 4445-0726.
No photo or personalization will be done at the signing.
Inter-faith community prayer gathering
June 22,2015
Boyd A. Loving
9:15 PM (6 hours ago)
Ridgewood NJ, An inter-faith community prayer gathering was held at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 21 at the Metropolitan AME Church, 259 South Broad Street, in Ridgewood to remember those killed last week in Charleston, SC.
He helped me penetrate the mystery of fatherhood, even if it is a bit late.
Editor’s note: this article first appeared in THE AMERICAN on June 16, 2013.
Father’s Day always leaves me a bit uneasy.
It’s like a pair of really big shoes. Every year, I have to walk up and put my feet in them and look silly because I can never fill them.
And there is more than a whiff of coerced obligation to the whole thing, a sense that “Well, we have a Mother’s Day, so we probably ought to…” You know what I mean.
Fatherhood remains a mystery to me despite the fact that my wife and I have raised a son and daughter and now have five grandchildren. I lived inside that mystery for years — too close inside it to ever have perspective or fully understand it.
Adlai Stevenson — he of scholarly mien, presidential pretensions, and worn out shoes — once observed that “Paternity is a career imposed on you without any inquiry into your fitness.” Indeed, when I look back on my career as a father, it seems as if I was thrust into the middle of a wild and woolly game with only a vague idea of the rules, the boundaries, or the score. It was a game played hard and very fast, and I still don’t know whether I won or lost, or whether the game is even over.
Oh, and there’s another complication. I never saw my father. He left my mother before I was born. I never knew anything about him; never even saw a picture of him until I was nearly 60 years old.
I can’t say that I missed my father. I never really thought about him, that I can recall. I was raised in a strange sort of sitcom of a household with my two brothers, mom, grandmother, and two unmarried uncles — something now called an “extended family.” All in all, it was a happy family despite its fair share of Sturm und Drang. It was what I knew. It was “normal.”
One of my uncles, George McDonald (my mother’s brother), was probably the nearest I had to a “father figure.” I didn’t call him “Uncle.” He was always simply, “George.” He always drove when my twin brother and I went to church on Sundays with our mother and grandmother. After the movie or the dance at the youth center on Friday nights, I knew where to find him for the ride home. He would be nursing his single beer at the end of the bar in the Commercial Hotel, talking with the owner, Red Fiorina, one of his best friends.
If I have learned anything over the years it is that every father more or less writes his own manual.
JUNE 18, 2015, 11:48 AM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015, 12:15 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Eco Ed’s final sojourn to paradise has ended.
In this file photo, Ed Schwartz poses before setting off to spend his final days in Hawaii.
Longtime Ridgewood resident Ed Schwartz, who earned his apropos nickname through his work as a sustainability expert, died early Thursday morning on the Hawaiian island of Maui. He was 47.
Eco Ed’s passing was confirmed on Thursday by Sharon Scalies, a close friend of Schwartz and his wife, Julie Tung.
Related: Ridgewood man battling cancer receives $36,000 in donations to spend final days in Maui
Scalies said that as Schwartz faded away, family and friends were here on the East Coast, “keeping vigil” for him.
Schwartz was diagnosed in late 2013 with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of cancer that ravages the blood-forming tissue of the bone marrow. In early May, he learned from his doctors he had just weeks to live.
Ridgewood NJ, YWCA Offers Concentrated One-Week Swim Classes in June The YWCA Bergen County is offering several concentrated swim classes in June that provide short-term swim instruction for children, teens and adults. These one-week classes run June 22 – 26 and are held Monday through Friday at the YWCA’s 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood location. Classes include Concentrated Stroke Clinic Competitive Swim Program for ages 5 to 14 years, Child Swim Lessons for ages 3 to 6 years and Youth, Pre-Teen, and Teen Swim Lessons for ages 6 to 14 years. Reduced class fees are available for 360 Movement Members. The YWCA Bergen County offers a variety of American Red Cross certified programs throughout the year, including swimming lessons for ages six months to adult and lifeguard training. For concentrated swim class schedules or information about any YWCA Aquatics program, call 201-444-5600, x327, or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org
