As an RHS student- these numbers are completely false. This survey was given on a volunteer-only basis, and to participate, your parent needed to sign a consent form. I didn’t take this survey, and I have never met a single student who did. I believe it was also administered in the RHS campus center with teachers all around. This year, the student editors of the RHS High Times gave their own version of the survey that had much more accurate results (these were only published in print and are not on the website). Every student in RHS and many teachers make fun of the social norms survey and the attempts by the school to push all of the drug/alcohol problems under the rug.
Facts are important. This problem is wholly and entirely a mismanagement issue by the village and RW Water. Rainfall and water supplies are not impacting this issue. This is a poor infrastructure, lack of planning, and foolish government decisions. Real leaders would solve the issues. From the US site
Heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding: Record precipitation was observed in parts of the Northwest, Northeast, Southern Plains and Mid-Atlantic. North Carolina had its wettest April on record. Rains caused widespread flooding in the Mid-Mississippi River Valley and contributed to numerous landslides in the West.
Drought shrunk to lowest extent since 2000: On May 2, 5 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought. This was the smallest drought footprint since the Drought Monitor began in 2000. Despite improvement in many areas, drought worsened in the Southwest and across parts of the Southeast where several large wildfires burned in Florida and southern Georgia.
You’ve all fallen for the spin put out by Ridgewood Water!
We are not in a drought!
Ridgewood Water can’t pump the water fast enough, this has nothing to do with supply but with transmission!
And, please don’t tell me that I need to replant a tree for every dead tree I take down on my property.
I’m not investing my money in a tree that I may or may not be “allowed” to water.
As someone who conducts many surveys as part of my job in communications, a survey like this is questionable. To start with the people most likely to respond to a survey, take the time out to thoughtfully and honestly do so, are the ones most likely to report positive behaviors. I dont have data on it, but my experience says that those students who are engaging in the less than optimal behaviors arent going to wast their time on a survey or answering honestly. I didnt notice, did it say what % of students responded? Would have been interesting to have also had them gather additional data such as which Elementary school they went to (neighborhood data) and if possible average GPA. If this data was true, we wouldnt be seeing and hearing about it so much. Very concerning. I’d like to figure out how we can actively address this!
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Police report that once again Old Paramus Reformed Church became a target for criminal mischief. On May 11, Ptl. Kyle Scarpa responded to the Old Paramus Reformed Church to investigate criminal mischief to a concrete fence on the property. Upon arrival Church staff members reported two historic fence pillars were smashed a part and the iron bars removed in the past. The Ridgewood Detective bureau is investigating the incident.
Ridgewood NJ, On Wednesday afternoon, 05/17, Ridgewood PD, FD, and EMS responded to a three (3) vehicle chain reaction crash that took place on Franklin Avenue under the NJ Transit railroad tracks. EMS and FD EMTs evaluated a toddler who had been properly secured in a child restraint device of a vehicle involved. The victim’s parent declined ambulance transport to a hospital. FD personnel attended to a crash related fluid spill while police collected data for a crash report and controlled heavy traffic in the area. One (1) of the three (3) vehicles involved was towed from the scene by a hydraulic wheel lift tow truck.
Ridgewood NJ, The Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Daniel Fishbein will host residents for coffee and casual conversation on Wednesday, May 17. The casual meeting will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 49 Cottage Place, Ridgewood. All residents are invited to drop in to share their thoughts, questions, suggestions and concerns.
Education is not cheap. There are teacher salaries and benefits, classroom support, books and supplies, administrative salaries and building construction and maintenance.
New Jersey school districts last year spent on average $20,385 per student to educate their students. Statewide, per-pupil costs ranged from a high of $60,129 in one small district, to $10,181 for a Jersey City charter school with 310 students.
In some of the state’s regional vocational schools, per pupil spending last year was as high as $35,568. New Jersey’s 21 vocational-technical districts are county-run districts with schools teaching traditional vocational subjects, including auto repair and cosmetology. Many of the vo-tech districts, including Bergen, Union and Middlesex, also include specialized high schools that require entrance exams for admission and are designed for the county’s highest-achieving students.
Not to mention the impact this thoughtless regulation has had on area businesses and employment. I heard Rohslers and others have complained to Ridgewood that the restrictions are impacting their business because people don’t want to invest in plants, etc. I’m considering cutting back my weekly landscaping service to twice a month. There is an economic ripple effect to this decision which I don’t think this council considered. If it was in response to an emergency I could understand it, but considering the amount of rain this season it seems nothing short of ridiculous. We should be able to water more than twice a week for 2 or 3 months of the year and maintain our properties that we all invest in dearly. Every other day watering seems reasonable unless of emergency drought conditions, and I want to see the rest of our service area comply with this rule otherwise it’s discriminating against Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, RHS delivers results of “social norms” poll with some surprising results .According a letter sent out by Principal Thomas A Gorman out of the 400 students who participated over 90% say they never have used tobacco, 61% have not used alcohol in the last 60 days ,76% do not consume alcohol in an average week, 78% never use marijuana , 90% never use marijuana in the average week .
84% of students say they do not go to parties where alcohol is served and 84% say their parents never let them drink alcohol.
Not sure what to make of this , but apparently the huge house party last week that was broken up by Police from Ridgewood , Fair Lawn and Paramus was a one off unusual circumstance ?
Is de-nile more than a river in Eqypt? Or are our kids just way more responsible than we were ?
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood American Legion Post 53 is conducting a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 29th 3017. It will take place at 11:am in Veterans Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. Everyone is invited to join us to honor all Americans who gave their lives so we can live in a free,secure and safe community.
“…the right of free speech does not guarantee to any person the right to use someone else’s property, even property owned by the government and dedicated to other purposes, as a stage to express ideas. …”
Not that this will carry much weight in progressive Trenton (or progressive Ridgewood), but this is a valid opinion
First has to be the school budget. We are spending millions to make sure that the first grader in Hawes studies the same thing as the first grader at Ridge. This is a huge waste of money. Let the schools run themselves with minimal oversight from BOE. By Jr. High they will have learned enough of the same things. BOE also drives lots of absences by teachers for development days and assessment of students. Cut it. Stop paying subs for those days and let the teachers teach. We also may need to look long and hard at what we are paying in insurance and coaches for certain expensive sports like football and swimming. We may not be able to offer the same sports and clubs we once did.
Second, we have way too much empty commercial space. Currently landlords are happy to leave the buildings empty and collect the rent from the failed business while paying lower taxes on the lower valued building. That has to change. We need to find ways to create incentives to encourage landlord to take new tenants. With more and more people working remotely, it would seem like some office space in town might help. (Im not sure how the shared office place is doing??) A program to reinvigorate the office space that exists above retail in town might help. At minimum, reduced construction permits and fast tracked inspections and approvals would help. Same for the empty space on Dayton. If those spaces are filled, the assessments rise and we would collect more in RE taxes.
Finally, there is the huge nut of police and fire budget. These should be shared services. We do not need 35 cops in town plus parking enforcement. Fire Department is great but when you factor in equipment, insurance and pensions its really expensive. Something’s got to give. There has been talk of including pension obligations when we talk about salaries but that has not happened. It has to. Each cop costs us millions in total obligations.
Ridgewood NJ, Tonights 7:30pm Planning Board meeting at Village Hall is going to be an important one for the fate of Ridgewood and we need you to show up and voice your concerns.
If you are concerned about our current water shortage/restrictions, ask yourself:
How do you think 200-300 added apartments in the proposed high density developments are going to impact this water shortage?
Forget about worrying about your lawn. What about your home? What if there ever was a fire? Should these oversized developments be built and should the current water shortage continue, will there be enough water pressure coming out of your street hydrant to save your house?
The Planning Board is likely to vote for the Ken Smith high density housing site tonight, 7:30pm at the Village Hall courtroom. This water concern is a public safety issue that the Planning Board can vote NO on as the developers have yet to do the proper research to address. Please come out this evening, speak about your concerns at the podium and help protect our village.
The Planning Board can vote NO on the basis that there is a public safety issue with the site plans – which we strongly believe is the case!
Here’s how (courtesy of Dave Slomin) :
WATER: A major safety issue is WATER. When Ridgewood Water testified on housing, they did so before the historic drought of the past two years. If current residents are unable to use water fully on a regular basis, how can we add 200-300 new homes in town? What happens if there is a fire at one of these buildings during peak water usage hours in the summer… that could be a disaster?
TRAFFIC: At the last meeting, there was debate about what level of responsibility falls to the developers to fix new traffic issues they create, all along the Franklin Ave corridor. Right now, they are saying they only have to install lights and signs, right near their building. But even the Planning Board’s own traffic engineer admitted, they don’t know the full impact of this development. But for the CURRENT RESIDENTS… WE NEED TO KNOW!
Until these issues are resolved, the Planning Board must vote NO. Please hold them to that by coming to tomorrow night’s meeting. The future of our downtown depends on it.
Ridgewood Water :
Stage II restrictions (2 days per week irrigation) were imposed in June 2016 and are still in effect in Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Without these restrictions, the use of drinking water for irrigation will continue increasing toward levels that are unsustainable regardless of drought conditions. To reverse this trend, an ordinance was approved by the Village Council on April 12, 2017 to amend the provisions governing Watering and Water Emergencies in the Village of Ridgewood Code. Changes include:
Making 2 days per week irrigation permanent year round,
Restricting irrigation hours to limit losses to evaporation,
Restricting irrigation using private wells to 2 days a week,
Adding new exemptions, including drip irrigation and smart controllers.
This ordinance became effective on May 2, 2017 and applies only to Ridgewood, but it is expected that the Boroughs of Glen Rock and Midland Park, and the Township of Wyckoff will enact similar rules as they have in the past. Below is the approved ordinance. Questions can be directed to Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5521 or cswater@ridgewoodnj.net.
