9th Annual Wiffle for Cancer Tournament on Sunday, June 2 The 9th Annual Wiffle for Cancer Tournament takes place on Sunday, June 2, 2013, at Ridgewood High School, 627 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, starting at 12:00 noon.
Online registration for the tournament is available at www.wiffleforcancer.org. Teams consist of 3 to 5 players and the registration fee is $50 per team. Each participant in the tournament will receive a 2013 tournament t-shirt. Tournament sponsorship opportunities are also available, and additional donations are always welcome. All proceeds of the tournament will benefit the Nick Currey Fund for Ewing Sarcoma Research. The Fund was established in memory of Nick Currey, Ridgewood High School Class of 2004, who lost his 14-month battle against Ewing sarcoma on November 3, 2005. So come out, have some fun and do some good! For further information about the tournament and the Nick Currey Fund, please visit our website, www.wiffleforcancer.org, or contact Ralph Currey at [email protected].
During the months of May and June, moving companies are at the peak of the season. They experience so many people moving and discarding food products. In an effort to assist those in need, we are participating in the “Thousand Pound Challenge”. Our offices will be collecting food and the moving companies will collect the food at the end of June.
Our goal of collecting a thousand pounds of food would be met with the cooperation of our friends, family and business associates. You are welcome to stop in to one of our offices to bring in your donations. Those who would like to collect food for this cause can call me and I will bring over boxes for your collections and pick them up when they become full.
Princeton to honor four secondary school teachers including Medha Jayant Kirtane from RHS
Posted May 28, 2013; 11:30 a.m.
by Michael Hotchkiss, Office of Communications
Princeton University will honor four exceptional New Jersey secondary school teachers at its 2013 Commencement on Tuesday, June 4.
This year’s honorees are Medha Jayant Kirtane, Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood; John McAllen, Point Pleasant Borough High School, Point Pleasant; Robert O’Boyle, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Pennington; and Deane Stepansky, Nutley High School, Nutley.
The teachers were selected for the award from 62 nominations from public and private schools around the state. Each teacher will receive $5,000, as well as $3,000 for his or her school library.
“In the final analysis, if great teachers are measured by what their students accomplish, the four teachers we honor with this award represent the very finest teachers in the profession today,” said Christopher Campisano, director of Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation. “By challenging their students to go beyond the superficial, by encouraging them to be skeptical, and by challenging them to test the limits of what they thought was possible, these four teachers enable their students to become confident, critical and creative thinkers.”
The staff of the Program in Teacher Preparation selected 11 finalists, each of whom was visited at their school by a member of the program staff. Award winners were selected by a committee that was chaired by Dean of the College Valerie Smith. The panel also included Campisano, University faculty members Miguel Centeno, Joshua Katz and Stanley Katz; Judy Wilson, superintendent of the Princeton Public Schools; and Samuel Stewart, executive county superintendent of schools for Mercer and Middlesex counties.
“These teachers serve as a testament to the quality of education found in our schools today and serve as an inspiration to all future and practicing teachers,” Campisano said.
Princeton has honored secondary school teachers since 1959. The University received an anonymous gift from an alumnus to establish the program.
Teachers honored this year are:
Medha Jayant Kirtane
Medha Jayant Kirtane is in demand — in class, during lunch, after school, even on the tennis court, teachers and students at Ridgewood High School say. Some students want to discuss an assignment; others want to talk about life outside the classroom.
“That Medha is such a perennial student favorite is all the more remarkable (at first glance) because she is one of the most rigorous teachers that students will ever encounter,” wrote Gavin Stewart, an English teacher at the school, in a letter supporting Kirtane’s nomination. “She demands excellence from her students, and although she ‘demands’ with a smile, her standards are nonetheless admirably high. To earn an ‘A’ in Ms. Kirtane’s class is truly an accomplishment!”
Kirtane has taught a range of social studies classes during her eight years at Ridgewood and has helped revise or rewrite several course curricula, principal Thomas Gorman said. Her current course load includes an interdisciplinary senior seminar that emphasizes independent research interwoven with intensive discussion in a small-group setting.
Lauren Cubellis, a graduate of Ridgewood High School and Princeton University, said the seminar pushed her to think critically about history and question assumptions.
“It was the most difficult class of my high school career,” Cubellis wrote. “But it was also the most exciting class I had ever taken. Medha was able to turn history into a living and breathing record of humanity.”
Kirtane said she tries to instill her students with curiosity, diligence, sincerity and critical thinking skills.
“I want my students to engage with themselves, me and each other to ignite their passion to learn and create ideas anew,” Kirtane wrote. “From that heated process should emerge a distilled vision of what should be and how each of them can work, within and beyond their communities, to achieve their goals.”
Outside the classroom, Kirtane leads the high school’s girls’ tennis team and was named division coach of the year in 2009, 2010 and 2011. She is also faculty adviser to the school’s Asian Festival and the Student Broadcast Club.
Kirtane earned her bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Join the Fight Against Common Core
Lindsey Burke
May 29, 2013 at 7:45 am
Two competing forces are pushing on America’s K–12 education system today.
One is an effort to infuse education choice into a long-stagnant system, empowering parents with the ability to send their child to a school that meets her unique learning needs.
The other is an effort to further centralize education through Common Core national standards and tests.
Across the country, education choice options have been proliferating rapidly, including vouchers, tuition tax credits, special needs scholarships, and education savings accounts. Educational choice is a revolution because it funds children instead of physical school buildings and allows dollars to follow children to any school—or education option—that meets their unique learning needs.
CHOICE EMPOWERS PARENTS to direct their child’s share of education funding, giving them options beyond an assigned government school.
CHOICE PRESSURES PUBLIC SCHOOLS with a much-needed competitive atmosphere, which works toward improving educational outcomes for students who take advantage of choice options as well as students who choose to attend their local public schools.
CHOICE HELPS KIDS. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., now have private school choice programs—and more states are considering implementing choice options. Education choice represents the type of innovation and freedom that will provide long-overdue reform to the K–12 education system, and holds the potential to truly raise educational outcomes for every child across the country.
But at the same time this encouraging shift toward education choice is underway, there is a push to take education in the exact opposite direction through Common Core national standards and tests.
COMMON CORE IS an effort to centralize education by dictating the standards and assessments that will determine the content taught in every public school across the country.
COMMON CORE HAS NO EVIDENCE that it will improve academic outcomes or boost international competitiveness. But the Obama Administration has pushed states to adopt national standards and assessments in exchange for offers of billions of dollars in federal funding and waivers from the onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind.
COMMON CORE ASSUMES that top-down, uniform standards and assessments—driven by federal bureaucrats and national organizations—are preferable to the state and local reform efforts guided by input from parents, teachers, and taxpayers.
States have been competing to improve their education systems by implementing education choice options and other reforms such as alternative teacher certification, transparent A–F grading systems, and a focus on reading achievement. Check out innovations in:
Florida
Idaho
Indiana
Arizona
American education is at a crossroads: One path leads toward further centralization and greater federal intervention. The other path leads toward robust education choice, including school choice and choice in curricula.
Common Core takes the path toward centralization, and state leaders should seize the moment to resist this latest federal overreach. National standards and tests are a challenge to educational freedom in America, and state and local leaders who believe in limited government should resist them.
“Real Housewives of New Jersey” “Joe” Giudice will go on trial July 15 on charges he posed as his brother to get a driver’s license
Tuesday, May 28, 2013 Last updated: Tuesday May 28, 2013, 6:21 PM
BY JOHN PETRICK
STAFF WRITE
Giudice in April rejected a plea deal that would have gotten him four years in state prison. The prosecution has maintained that that is its final offer.
The trial date was scheduled during a status conference on the case by state Judge Greta Gooden Brown in Paterson. Miles Feinstein, the defense lawyer for Giudice, and Jay McCann, a Passaic County assistant prosecutor, said in court that a mid-July start would give them reasonable time to prepare.
“We are happy that a trial date has been set and we look forward to Joe being exonerated,” Feinstein said following the brief hearing Monday, in which Giudice attended with his mother. Both declined comment.
July 4th in Ridgewood is a very special day that our entire area looks forward to all year. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Honoring our Declaration of Independence.” We are an all-volunteer community group that coordinates the day’s events and does not receive direct funding from the Village of Ridgewood.
Our committee is thrilled to have a descendent of a signer of the Declaration of Independence as our Grand Marshal. Thornton Lockwood, “Thorny”, is a descendant of Declaration signer Josiah Bartlett, and a first cousin, eight times removed, of Benjamin Franklin.
The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration began in 1910 when the local papers, the civic section of the
Woman’s Club and the Ridgewood Fire Department joined forces to create a “safe and sane” holiday with an emphasis on Patriotism. It has grown into one of the largest celebrations in the New York City area and has been featured on CNN and Good Morning America as well as local New York stations. The celebration was once again named Best Parade and Fireworks by the readers of 201 Magazine.
We are actively preparing for what we know will be a spectacular celebration, it is vital that we have community support. Please consider helping to “Support the Tradition”. Because of generous support from the community, we have one of the best small town Independence Day celebrations, and if every family who enjoys our celebration contributed just $10, the day’s expenses would be covered. Donations may be made online at www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org or mailed to Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration, Inc., PO Box 140, Ridgewood, NJ 07451.
Additional information and answers to many of your questions can be found on the Ridgewood Fourth of
July Celebration’s website at www.ridgewoodjuly4th.org.
The Dangers of “Common Core Education”
The Eagle,TPATH May 24, 2013
Nicholas Purpura
Nicholas Purpura’s commentary is thorough and convincing pointing out the dangers in “Common Core Education ” and the direct threat it poses to the kin of quality education Ridgewood expects from its schools.
“Education has become a national security issue, and what has your establishment incumbent said or done about it – absolutely nothing! I remind the reader that the infamous tyrant, Adolph Hitler, said: “When an opponent declares, ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I calmly say, ‘your child belongs to us already…. What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else out of this new community.
The GOP establishment in New Jersey is no better. If they were, they would have stood by the Republican National Committee’s Resolution against “Common Core Education.” Then it might have been a different picture. Instead they’re what I’ve been saying is “Democrat-lite” and are going along as good progressives normally do, disregarding that it will destroy the education of children in the government indoctrination centers called “public schools”.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Candidates from both parties have joined Team New Jersey condemning “Common Core Education,” and will do everything in their power to rid New Jersey of this indoctrination program that will dumb them down and turn them into one-world globalist.
The candidates listed below are against Common Core, or federalizing of the curriculum, which is the newest way to dumb down our children.
Senate Candidate: LD-13 Leigh-Ann Bellew
Assembly Candidates: LD-4, John Lockhart (Incumbent) LD-7, Connie Hare Murry and Joe Siano LD-8, Scott Fay and Gary Jacques Assembly LD-13, Steve Boracchia and Edna Walsh LD-36, Aharon Cohn and Sam Krause (Two more patriots joining TeamNJ)
And please don’t neglect those running for Freeholders and GOP Committee – it’s time to clean house.
Freeholders:
(Incumbent) Scott Rumana, LD 40 JoeMcDevitt, (Atlantic Co.) LanceSilver, Burl.Co. BarbaraEames, (Whippany, Morris Cty. Lance Silver, (Burl.) Ed Pekarsky, LD 13 Brian Largey, LD 13
GOP State Committee: Bill Haney & Ashley Cameron, Burlington Rae Rinaldi, Steve Moss, Bergen Pat Rivera, Jim Gasko, Passaic Bader Qarmount, Rick Shaftan, Deborah Deluca, Sussex Vikki Jennsen, Union Catherine McCulloch, Morris Carol Gallentine, Essex Ron Giordano, Joanne Cooper, Salem Eric Dixon, Hudson
Parental control is what is truly needed. School choice where your children attend – whether private, religious, or charter – the need for a universal voucher system is long overdue. The public education system is a total failure, and must be dismantled if our children are to be able to compete in this world economy. Remember, the fed’s gave us Outcome-based Education, Goals 2000, School-to-work, and now Common Core. It’s the same garbage repackaged over and over again, and it is designed to dumb down our children and take away the local control of boards of education.
Much worse “Common Core” effectively removes educational choice. What’s more the government will collect personal student’s data for non-educational purpose without parental written consent. You may ask how these reprobates can get away with this. Let me point to one instance that will sicken you.
The enlightened progressives at the NEA have decided that advancing sensitivity and tolerance of other life styles is of the utmost importance. But, in truth, their objective is to change public opinion on homosexuality, starting with the youngest generation. On the internet, according to a former chairman of the NEA, Ex-Gay Educators Caucus, and many other critics, the NEA promotes a gay rights agenda especially following the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals see Field’s v. Palmdale School District, in which the Court held:
“parents’ fundamental right to control the upbringing of their children “does not extend beyond the threshold of the school door,” and that a public school has the right to provide its students with “whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise.”
So you think it’s just the fed’s shoving “Common Core” down our throats? Coming to you straight from the mental midgets at the Department of Education in New Jersey this September is another program titled “Student Growth Objectives” pre- and post-testing, which is measuring and testing all year long. Ask yourselves, when the heck are they going to teach? Our teachers are now going to teach according to what will be on the tests so the school gets a good rating. In truth, if anyone needs testing it’s those posing as teachers so we get the best educators for our students and tell the Department of Education and unions to go take a hike.
We as Americans must never let those in the teachers unions and Department of Education now controlled by Marxists, Socialists, Atheists, Sodomites, and one-world advocates to usurp our parental rights any longer while repeatedly degrading our culture and history.
If we ever hope to restore our heritage and traditional values we must no longer allow the government, to tell our children what is acceptable moral behavior by indoctrinating them into ill moral sexual behavior now prevalent in grade school to higher educational institutions. No authority exists in the Constitution granting the federal government the authority to create the Department of Education, especially an unconstitutional department that partners itself with Marxists teachers unions and the UN that is determined to destroy the United States culture and heritage by mandating indoctrination into a one-world order. Orwell said it best, “those that control the language control the thinking.”
Also, I know of nowhere in the Constitution that requires parents to surrender their children to the “State” or “Teachers Unions” to undergo sexual indoctrination. Renowned educational analyst, Samuel Blumenfeld reported in his book “The Leaning Tower of Babel” that school programs are intended:
“to discard the values and religious beliefs of their families and create new sets of values reflecting their own personal desires and leanings, particularly those regarding sex.” …been encouraged by values clarification to reject the traditional Judeo-Christian prohibitions against sexual perversion and adopt an open and assertive homosexual lifestyle.”Funded with your tax dollars and teachers dues, these draconian programs were co-sponsored by none other than Department of Education, National Education Association, (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The UN’s arm UNESCO made no attempt to disguise their Socialist and Marxist goals let their own words be a warning:
“It follows from the essence of the socialist structure of the state in countries concerned… that their educational system is centralized. This creates an extremely favorable situation for central state measures designed to modernize education. The socialist state possesses the means necessary for education…. From the point of view of the development of education technology the socialist countries are also in a favorable position because of the fact that television, school television, radio and school radio are operated centrally….”
Serving Those Who Served
James Carafano
May 27, 2013 at 7:00 am
This Memorial Day, the Heritage family will join all Americans in remembering the service and sacrifices of those who gave all so the rest of us would remain free.
There is no greater way to honor their memory than making a personal commitment to serving those who served—our 22 million living American veterans and their families.
Those who give the most have the set the bar high for the rest of us. The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation was founded by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which consists exclusively of the living Medal of Honor recipients. These brave men have committed themselves to continuing a life of service to their nation.
One way they meet this mission is through their work with the Medal of Honor Character Development Program incorporating the ideals of courage and selfless service into the middle and high school curriculum. The lessons in the curriculum are framed using the lives, experiences, and words of these heroes. The program is now present in more than 33 states and in schools run by the Department of Defense in Europe and the Pacific.
Veterans giving back to serve other veterans and their families are found in every branch of service. Take Deb Snyder. When Snyder, a retired Army helicopter pilot, came to Heritage as part of our Protect America program, she talked about her passion to help her fellow soldiers. Deb decided to tackle a heartbreaking issue: the fact that one-fifth of the nation’s homeless population are veterans.
In 2011, the Alexandria native decided to do something in her own backyard. She founded Operation Renewed Hope Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to one goal: getting veterans’ heads off stone pillows and onto real ones. Today, Operation Renewed Hope is a team of 50 dedicated volunteers.
We are inspired by folks like the members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and veterans like Deb Snyder. Some of Heritage’s employees banded together to create an organization to help educate all Americans on how to serve those who served. The team created an award-winning documentary, Veteran Nation, which is available for free to those who want to hold community screenings to help jump-start local efforts—either bringing attention and support to local volunteer programs or starting new organizations.
On days like Memorial Day, we honor the spirit and sacrifices of veterans. But every day, when Americans support and encourage the veterans in their communities, the spirit of the nation flourishes.
A Memorial Day Message From County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan
Dear Friends,
Please allow me to take a moment to wish you all a very enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I hope you get to spend time with your friends and family, whether it is at a neighborhood barbecue or down the shore or a cabin in the mountains.
I also hope that you take a moment to put aside your celebration and give some thought to the real meaning of Memorial Day. As you know, Memorial Day is about a lot more than barbecues, or beaches, or sales at the department store.
Memorial Day is the time to honor those who gave up their lives, so we can have better lives.
As Americans we cherish our political liberty and our personal freedoms. But infrequently do we think about how we got those freedoms or who secured them for us. Memorial Day is the time to do just that.
In the course of this weekend, please take a moment to remember that men and women died all over the world, so we can have the freedom we have today. They fought and died in jungles and in deserts against tyranny.
Families lost sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles to the never ending cause of freedom. We owe both those who died and the families who gave up their loved ones our thanks for the sacrifices they made.
The price of liberty is not cheap and many have paid the ultimate price for the liberty we enjoy today. Let’s take time to remember them and honor them this weekend.
Memorial Day – Monday – May 27th, 2013
Veterans Memorial Field
Ridgewood, NJ
The premier road race in northern New Jersey. One of the longest running races in the tri-state area. There is something for everyone: 10K, 5K, Road Mile, Fun Run – the must-run event for all! This video is a recap of the 2012 race:
IMPORTANT SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR THE RIDGEWOOD RUN
This year, we have been asked by the Ridgewood Police Department to institute steps with special attention to their safety concerns. They are as follows:
Volunteers arriving at Veteran’s Field for the Ridgewood Run on Monday, May 27th are asked to park in the lot on the corner of Linwood Ave and Northern Parkway ACROSS from Graydon Pool.
All participants are encouraged to leave any purses, bags, backpacks, etc. at home. If you must bring personal items, please check them at the Baggage Tent next to the baseball backstop. No bags will be permitted along the race course or near the finish line.
Any vehicle on the course or on the field must display an “OFFICIAL RACE VEHICLE” placard. If you anticipate needing vehicular access to these areas, please contact Cheryl Moses, Race Director, for an ACCESS APPLICATION. [email protected] or 551-427-2505.
Development plans put cart before the horse
Friday, May 24, 2013
The Ridgewood News
Development plans put cart before the horse
To the editor:
After last week’s Planning Board meeting on the four proposed multi-family units, I realized there is truly no master town plan happening here. The municipal planner, Blaise Brancheau, suggested as much to the board.
Mr. Brancheau recommended the Planning Board step back and look at the facts, revisit the checklist, decide what was important. But almost every Planning Board member said they are fine with the facts and ready to proceed. They are all so sure of the facts, in fact, that when Gail Price, the Planning Board attorney, tried to quiet the crowd with what she knew to be the actual number of students attending our schools from the current multi-family dwellings, none of the members corrected her. Gail said the number was 88. The crowd quieted down, as the paper stated, because that was not the number we knew to be correct. According to news reports, 88 is the number of students that live in the Oak Street Apartments alone. The number that is closer to actual is 219 school-aged children living in all the town apartments. That’s very different.
It is clear that the proposed hundreds of rental units will surely impact the Ridgewood schools negatively for years to come as many would use the cheaper “rental ticket” to enroll. Moreover, peak traffic, which is already an unbearable problem, will become even more so. Meanwhile, the rental units in the end would most likely not help the town’s fiscal situation given that additional enrollment at the schools and increased number of residents will lead to higher expenditure.
The town officials need to listen to the residents of Ridgewood rather than the sweet talk of developers. Significant high density developments will damage the town permanently, and the officials will end up bearing significant blame for the outcome. Bottom line: The developments in the Central Business District need to follow the existing building codes. No exceptions.
The residents need to keep in mind that our apathy is developers’ best edge. We need to get involved and be heard. To start, visit citizensforabetterridgewood.com to sign up and get more information. Also visit and “like” the Facebook page under the same title. The website lists many ways we could get involved.
I wonder when Mayor Aronsohn was going to notify the public that he is running for another elected position.
PJ , Just received my sample ballot in the mail. I wonder when Mayor Aronsohn was going to notify the public that he is running for another elected position. This one with the Democratic Party in the State of NJ.
Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black? He blasted Gabbert for being his BCUA appointment but mentions nothing about running for a partisan office in our Non-Partisan town.
Maybe our carpetbagger will be leaving soon. Ring the church bells.
3 Fun & Easy Tips for Spending Your 2013 Memorial Day BBQ… with Cicadas
Ah, Memorial Day. Time to soak up the sun (this weather notwithstanding), fire up the grill, and get outside to enjoy that very first rite of summer’s unofficial beginning — the all-American cookout. Except this particular American summer, like each summer every 17 years on the East Coast before it, has a certain shared airspace peculiarity: cicadas. The sex-craven bugs have arrived from the underground and have been spotted in backyards all the way from down in Louisiana, up to New York, and onto Massachusetts. But fear not, BBQ-ers! The Atlantic Wire’s resident cicada expert is here to help! Indeed, cicadas and humans alike can celebrate this long weekend in peace, together.
Cicada BBQ Tip No. 1: Do Not Eat Each Other at the Cicada-cue!
Many of us look forward to this particular weekend for that first outdoor grill session — and this Memorial Day shouldn’t be any different than any of the last 16 Memorial Days before it. Fear not, BBQ-ers! Just because some sensational newspapers have suggested that the insect crunchers might taste good, you probably don’t want to put cicadas on your cookout menu. The Atlantic’s James Hamblin makes a compelling case: “It’s less about eating screaming bugs, and more about eating things that have been in the ground for 17 years,” he writes. Also, have you seen the photos and videos of dudes attempting to eat the bugs? Even the guy pretending to look happy doesn’t look happy. Do you really want to be eating something that cats and dogs find delicious?
‘Operation Swill:’ N.J. raids bars to see if they are passing off cheap liquor as premium brands
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Last updated: Thursday May 23, 2013, 7:45 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Is it Grey Goose or Smirnoff? Macallan or Old Smuggler?
MITSU YASUKAWA/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A detective from the state Division of Criminal Justice carries boxes of evidence out from TGI Friday on Route 3 West in Clifton.
That’s what state investigators were trying to find out Wednesday as they raided 29 bars and restaurants, including two in Bergen County and one in Passaic County, suspected of serving cheaper liquor as high-priced, name-brand spirits.
More than 100 investigators from the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control simultaneously entered the establishments — nearly half of them TGI Fridays — around the state at 11 a.m. Among them were The Brick House in Wyckoff, Railroad Café in Rutherford and TGI Fridays in Clifton, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The raids were the result of a yearlong probe dubbed “Operation Swill.”
