>It is summer time and the Ridgewood blog would like to invite you to submit articles and photos of events around the Village. If you are a local merchant or a community organization and would like to tell us about your business please feel free there is no charge .And finally if you’re looking to promote a garage or yard sale it is free to all village residents.

>Village Calendar Correction for July 2006
The Village Council meetings in July 2006 are as follows:
July 1 – Village Council Reorganization Meeting at 12 Noon
July 12 – Village Council Work Session at 7:30 PM
July 19 – Village Council Public Meeting at 8:00 PM
All meetings are held in the Village Hall Court Room.

All meetings of the Village Council are televised “LIVE” on Channel 77.

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Honor Varian Fry, Ridgewood Native – Support Stamp CommemorationVarian Fry, a Ridgewood native, was a journalist responsible for saving over 2,000 lives in Vichy France from sure death. Mr. Fry’s story, like Oskar Schindler’s, deserves to be remembered. After visiting Berlin in 1935 and recording Nazi’s brutality toward Jews for an American political journal, he volunteered in 1940 for what was to have been a short term mission in occupied France. He established a clandestine network to rescue intellectuals, artists, and musicians.France has awarded Varian Fry the Cross of the Legion of Honor, and Israel has also designated him as “Rightous Among Nations” for his heroic actions.There is a new effort to recognized Mr. Fry’s acheivements by having a stamp named in his honor. To support this effort send a brief signed note of support to: Virginia Noelke, Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Room 4474E, Washington, D.C. 20260-2437

and a little more info :

Varian Fry, a 32 year old Harvard-educated classicist and editor , helped save thousands of endangered refugees who were caught in the Vichy French zone escape from Nazi terror during World War II. Yet this man, known as “the American Schindler,” died in obscurity, without recognition, having been reprimanded by the US government for his actions.
Despite having had no training in underground work and no knowledge of forgers, black marketeers, or secret passages, within 24 hours after his arrival in France Fry committed himself to a mission that saved prominent persons such as artists Marc Chagall and Max Ernst, writer Hannah Arendt, and sculptor Jacques Lipchitz.
Fry said, “I stayed because the refugees needed me. But it took courage, and courage is a quality that I hadn’t previously been sure I possessed.” This man who found the courage to save some of Europe’s greatest artists, writers and thinkers remained unrecognized by his countrymen and unacknowledged by his country until recently.
In 1991, 50 years after his courageous actions in France saved thousands of innocent lives and 24 years after his death, Fry received his first official recognition from a United States agency, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. In 1996, Varian Mackey Fry was named as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Heros and Martyrs Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem — the first American recipient of Israel’s highest honor for rescuers during the Holocaust, an honor also received by Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg.©1997 The Varian Fry Foundation Project/IRC

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“Life of an Artist” Kristine Di Grigoli Paige Solo ExhibitionWorks from 1997-2006 June 22-July 6th, 2006

C. Magor Gallery 21 Oak Street Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
(201) 670-0555 Gallery

Second Open Reception Thurs. 6/29/06- 5pm till 9pm

Yea I know it was a hot one ,but those who braved the heat were treated to the music of Rich and Royal and the Bloodsugars ,Kristine created 3 new works to add to her 50 or so paintings that are presently on display . Kristine will be in the Gallery all next week so call the Gallery to make an appointment to get to meet her .

>The Ridgewood Blog just wanted to take this moment to wish the best for all out graduating seniors !!!!!!!!!!!

>It was reported during last night’s Village Council Work Session that Social Services of Ridgewood, Inc. has paid their past due rent bill, for the VOR owned building at 6 Station Plaza, in full.

>During Wednesday evening’s Village Council Work Session, Peter Kortright III, of the Bergen County Department of Planning and Economic Development, recommended that Council members partner with County officials to implement improvements at the following Ridgewood traffic intersections:
1) Godwin and Lincoln Avenues 2) Linwood and North Van Dien Avenues 3) Ridgewood and North Pleasant Avenues
Proposed improvements would include the addition of motor vehicle turning lanes, new traffic signals, improved pedestrian cross-walks, and decorative curbing/sidewalks. Property acquisition/condemnation adjacent to all three listed intersections would be necessary to affect the recommended improvements.
The mere mention of possible property condemnations, which would be the Village’s responsibility, resulted in several raised sets of eyebrows on the dais. Councilwoman Kim Ringler-Shagin quickly passed the hot potato by requesting Mr. Kortright to present his conceptual proposal at the next regularly scheduled Village Pedestrian & Traffic Safety Committee meeting. Ms. Ringler-Shagin suggested it would be appropriate for the Council to receive recommendations from this Committee before discussing the County’s proposal again in detail. Deputy Mayor Betty Wiest, the Committee’s Chair, concurred and scheduled Mr. Kortright’s presentation to be heard on Thursday, June 29 @ 7:30 PM in the Village Courtroom.
Do motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian safety conditions the locations noted above warrant the condemnation of private property necessary to facilitate significant intersection improvements?

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>Please be advised that the Ridgewood Police Department is asking Ridgewood residents to be extra vigilant this week because of an incident that occurred on Monday, June 19, around 4:30 p.m. on Wyndemere Avenue. A white male, described as in his sixties, with red hair, and driving a beige SUV, approached a fifteen-year-old female student. After asking for directions, he struck her and then drove away.The Police are asking parents to discuss this incident with their children and advise them if they witness any similar event to go to any adult immediately and contact the Ridgewood Police Department. Timing is critical.We will make every effort to keep parents informed of potentially threatening situations in the district.

>All residents are invited to attend an Open House on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 from 7 to 9 PM in the Village Hall Court Room. Representatives from the Village Council and NJ Transit will be on hand to explain the new plans for ADA modifications to the Ridgewood Train Station platforms. Three plans with slightly different locations for the new high level platforms will be presented and explained. This is an opportunity to learn about this project and ask questions.

>the Ridgewood Blog has learned that The BOE will not be represented in the 4th of July Parade because the 4th of July Committee would not supply them with a car ,you would kind of think that an $80 million dollar budget might cover a 2 1/2 mile car ride in a parade ?