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Main Street speaks out: Top candidate for small biz is Donald Trump

-donald-trump-candidacy-speech-thridgewoodblog

Main Street speaks out: Top candidate for small biz

Elaine Pofeldt, special to CNBC.com

As Americans go to the polls for Super Tuesday, one big contingent that may wield tremendous influence is the small-business rank and file. The nation’s 28 million small businesses represent 54 percent of all U.S. sales and have provided 55 percent of all jobs since the 1970s,according to the Small Business Administration.

This should be a day of reckoning for the candidates as Main Street tries to get its voice heard. According to a recent Manta survey, a stunning 60 percent of small-business owners plan to vote in their state primaries and caucuses. Tuesday is the biggest single day for the seven presidential candidates in both parties to receive delegates, with voting taking place in 12 states, including Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia.

What’s driving small-business owners to the voting booths? According to John Swanciger, CEO of Manta, a social network for small-business owners, “there are issues squeezing small-business owners from every side — the economy, taxes and health care. They are looking for a candidate who understands how their sector is being impacted.”

Who comes out on top? So far, small-business owners said their No.1 pick is Republican candidate and business mogul Donald Trump in Manta’s poll. Thirty-eight percent of small-business owners said the businessman would be the best president for small business, while 21 percent said Democratic candidate Clinton would be.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/29/main-street-speaks-out-top-candidate-for-small-biz.html

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Schooling first responders on terror; Rutgers offers course for med students

NR11RutgersSign2775_2

BY PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The scene is hypothetical, but it has to be taken seriously: A water fountain at busy Newark Liberty International Airport has been spiked with the nerve agent Sarin. Doctors at University Hospital try to puzzle what is happening as victims arrive, some dizzy, others vomiting.

Could it be food poisoning? Now one is dead and more people have become exposed before it becomes apparent that some sort of biological attack has taken place.

With terrorism an increasingly possible occurrence on U.S. soil, doctors and first responders need to be prepared, says the creator of a class now offered at Rutgers’ New Jersey Medical School. While there are courses in disaster medicine around the country, Rutgers claims its two-week elective is unique in the breadth and depth of its exploration of the topic.

“This type of training is standard fare in emergency medicine residency programs, but I’m not sure that it’s too common at the medical student level,” said Mike Baldyga, public relations manager for the American College of Emergency Physicians.

“New Jersey has good reason to be concerned about terrorism,” said the developer of the course, Dr. Leonard Cole, noting that the FBI has deemed the area around Newark — with its ports, chemical plants and population density — as one of the prime terror targets in the nation. “Part of what this course does is to alert these physicians that you’ve got to pay attention to this kind of threat.”

The fourth-year medical students taking the Terror Medicine elective this week participated in the mock exercise involving airport contamination and were asked to make decisions — through the whirring of air-filters attached to the masks they donned — in responding to the emergency

Dr. Miriam Kilkarni, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, asked the students where in the hospital they would find the antidote for Sarin. “The time to worry about the availability of Atropine is when you start dosing the first patient!”

Protective gear was needed, as were quarantines and communication with emergency personnel on the scene — all while triage and treatment of the victims proceeded in a chaotic environment.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/2.4225/schooling-first-responders-on-terror-rutgers-offers-course-for-med-students-1.1519632

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A prominent US senator just threw his support to Donald Trump

sen-jeff-sessions-2012-reuters-640x480

“The events of history have aligned to give the people this fleeting chance to bust up the oligarchy – to take back control from the ‘Masters of the Universe’ return it to the good and decent and patriotic citizens of the United States.” Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama

Colin Campbell

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama endorsed Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign on Sunday.

Trump announced the endorsement alongside Sessions at a massive campaign rally in Madison, Alabama.

“At this time in America’s history, we need to make America great again!” Sessions exclaimed, echoing Trump’s campaign slogan. “I am pleased to endorse Donald Trump for the presidency of the United States.”

Sessions, known for his hard-line stance against illegal immigration, is popular in some conservative circles.

Sen. Ted Cruz, another presidential candidate, frequently invoked Sessions in order to defend his record on immigration. On Sunday, Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge called Sessionsthe “conservative soul” of the US Senate.

Several other notable politicians have also recently thrown their support to Trump, though another GOP candidate, Marco Rubio, has grabbed the lion’s share of recent endorsements from elected officials.

Last Friday, former presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Trump. And former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, whose own record on illegal immigration once caused a national firestorm, announced her support for Trump on Saturday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-sessions-donald-trump-endorses-2016-2

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NY Times Bombshell Scoop: Fox News Colluded with Rubio to Give Amnesty to Illegal Alien

marco rubio

by BREITBART NEWS27 Feb 20169,599

Jason Horowitz writes in the New York Times:

A few weeks after Senator Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined a bipartisan push for an immigration overhaul in 2013, he arrived alongside Senator Chuck Schumer at the executive dining room of News Corporation’s Manhattan headquarters for dinner.

Their mission was to persuade Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the media empire, and Roger Ailes, the chairman and chief executive of its Fox News division, to keep the network’s on-air personalities from savaging the legislation and give it a fighting chance at survival.

Mr. Murdoch, an advocate of immigration reform, and Mr. Ailes, his top lieutenant and the most powerful man in conservative television, agreed at the Jan. 17, 2013, meeting to give the senators some breathing room.

But the media executives, highly attuned to the intensifying anger in the Republican grass roots, warned that the senators also needed to make their case to Rush Limbaugh, the king of conservative talk radio, who held enormous sway with the party’s largely anti-immigrant base.

The dinner at News Corporation headquarters — which has not been previously reported — and the subsequent outreach to Mr. Limbaugh illustrate the degree to which Mr. Rubio served as the chief envoy to the conservative media for the group supporting the legislation. The bill would have provided a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants along with measures to secure the borders and ensure that foreigners left the United States upon the expiration of their visas.

It is a history that Mr. Rubio is not eager to highlight as he takes on Donald J. Trump, his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, who has made his vow to crack down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign.

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/27/marco-rubio-pushed-for-immigration-reform-with-conservative-media/

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Celebrate Holy Week at Christ Episcopal Church, Ridgewood

Christ Episcopal Church

As the holiest week of the Christian calendar approaches, Christ Episcopal Church in Ridgewood offers a variety of services for worship and celebration. Some of the services are geared toward children and youth, including the JOY! service every Sunday for infants and up, and child-friendly services for Good Friday and the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday. The church also features a special Lenten breakfast every Sunday in Lent, February 14 through March 13 from 8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. in the Great Hall. The price for adults is $5.00 and kids eat free. A special Maundy Thursday service will be held jointly with The United Methodist Church of Ridgewood and Emmanuel Church and the community is invited to a light meal followed by the service. As well, the Easter Bunny will be in attendance for the church’s annual Easter egg hunt on Easter Day and the community is invited to join in the services and Easter festivities, directly after the 9:15 a.m. and 10 a.m. services.
The Holy Week Schedule includes:
March 20 – Palm Sunday
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 a.m., 9:15 a.m. JOY! and 10:00 a.m.

March 21, 22 and 23 – Daily Mass during Holy Week
Holy Eucharist at 6:30 p.m.

March 24 – Maundy Thursday
Soup and sandwich dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by Holy Eucharist at 7:30 p.m.
Dinner will be followed by stripping of the Altar and the Minor Vigil.
March 25 – Good Friday
Good Friday Liturgy with Communion from Reserve and Veneration of the Cross at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 4:00 p.m. The 4:00 p.m. service is child-friendly.

March 26 – The Great Vigil of Easter
A child-friendly service beginning at sundown 7:15 p.m.

March 27 – Easter Day
Holy Eucharist at 8:00 a.m., 9:15 a.m. JOY! and 10:00 a.m.

Christ Episcopal Church is an open and inclusive community that embraces all people, wherever they may be on their faith journey. The church is located at 105 Cottage Place, at the corner of Franklin Avenue, in Ridgewood; 201-652-2350; christchurchridgewood.org.

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Ridgewood Police Launches Community Policing Program with Franklin/Covey

Ridgewood-_Police_cars_theridgewoodblog

February 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, While Franklin/Covey has been partnering with Law Enforcement on a wide variety of trust and leadership programs this will be their first national pilot program which involves police, public safety & community members training together.

The overall concept is to provide police and community members the opportunity to enhance understanding, break down silos and build trust through shared learning experiences. Participants will be armed with enhanced trust, understanding and the tools to effectively solve community problems implement and sustain community policing projects.

The program involves four core foundational training’s to enhance community policing /trust and four core trainings to help police and community leaders effectively implement, operate, evaluate and sustain community policing programs.
Community members are teamed with police officers and can receive the training for free.

The pilot program is not limited to Ridgewood. In fact Glen Rock and several other communities have already expressed interest in participating.

According to police sources ,Franklin Covey dramatically reduced their prices the Community Policing/Trust Leadership initiative provides full access to 8 of their premier programs annually for 100 officers/public safety leaders and another 100 community members who receive these training (with police officers) for free.

Ridgewood Police worked with partners at covey to select the programs we believe will help communities effectively develop, enhance and sustain effect community policing and trust initiatives.

The programs will include 4 Core Community Policing/Trust Foundational programs;
Nobility in Policing, Policing/Leading at the Speed of Trust, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Diversity Centered Leadership and 4 core Effective Execution & Operations Core Trainings which include; Leadership Foundations, Leadership Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results, The 4 Disciplines of Execution and Project Management Essentials

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Rep. Scott Garret Leads Formal Call on Obama to Address Extradition of cop-killer Joanne Chesimard and terrorist William Morales

joanne-chesimard

file photo of Joanne Chesimard

Feb 26, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05) today formally called upon President Obama to request the extradition of cop-killer Joanne Chesimard and terrorist William Morales during his upcoming visit to Cuba. These murderous fugitives have been living freely in Cuba and were granted protection by the Castro regime who has refused to extradite them. To date, the Obama Administration has not addressed the extradition of these convicted murderers as a condition of normalizing relations with Cuba and the Castro regime. Garrett was joined on the letter by Rep. Peter King (NY-02) and Rep. Leonard Lance (NJ-07).

“Over a year ago, your administration announced the reopening of diplomatic channels with Cuba,” said the Congressmen in the letter. “Since then, your administration has continued to take steps towards normalizing relations by relaxing trade restrictions, reopening embassies, and re-establishing scheduled air services. On February 18th your administration announced your trip this March to Cuba citing the significant progress made by normalizing relations. However, we fail to see any progress in extraditing the fugitives like Joanne Chesimard and William Morales, nor any improvement in the treatment of the Cuban people by their government.”

Murderers Living Freely in Cuba:

Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, was convicted of murder of a law enforcement officer, and sentenced to life in prison in 1977. In 1973, New Jersey State Troopers Werner Foerster and James Harper made a routine traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. When the troopers asked the vehicle’s driver to exit the car, one of the passengers, Joanne Chesimard, pulled out a gun and began shooting. During the ensuing firefight, Foerster was hit twice in the chest and Harper once in the shoulder. The injured Foerster was then shot twice in the head—execution style—with his own sidearm.

William Morales was sentenced to ninety-nine years in prison for his participation in the terrorist organization Fuerzas Armadas de Liberaciόn Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN). William Morales was a chief bomb maker for FALN, and he was linked to the 1975 bombing of Fraunces Tavern in New York City, an attack that killed four people and injured sixty others

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Neighbor of Irene Habernickel Family Park Target of harassment campaign by Village of Ridgewood over Opposition to Health Barn

3 amigos in action Ridgewood NJ
file photo of the Council Majority …ie the 3 amigos
February 26,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, ,it does appear from recent OPRA requests that the Village harassed a resident who objected to Health Barn USA plan by calling DEP on them and conducting numerous property maintenance inspections.

The attached documents, obtained late Friday afternoon, February 26, 2016, in response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request dated February 3, 2016, clearly identify who it was that “dropped a dime” on your family.

Screenshot 2016 02 27 at 8.46.56 AM
It’s all public information available to anyone who submits an OPRA request.  You may wish to share this with your friends and neighbors.

Screenshot 2016 02 27 at 8.45.53 AM

We have also filed an OPRA request with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection just to see if anything additional turns up.

It certainly is a shame that your speaking out in opposition to an irrational plan proposed by the Village Council “majority” triggered what appears to be nothing more than a vindictive series of trumped up code enforcement actions directed at your property.

Screenshot 2016 02 27 at 8.36.19 AM
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Why Millennials don’t eat Cereal

breakfast of champions
February 25,2016

PJ Blogger and the Staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The other day the Washington Post ran an article entitled “The baffling reason many millennials don’t eat cereal.”
I have never been a fan of cereal myself,actually I hate it, and I thought finally something good to say about Millennials ,so I clicked on it to see if they shared my distaste in the common breakfast ,some call it “food”.

The answer  shocked me ,no Millennials like cereal alright it’s just the cleaning up afterwards they object to.(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/23/this-is-the-height-of-laziness/)

The Washington Post article goes on to describe how this trend toward convenient and quick foods is a sign of a fast-paced, two-income family society in which very few people have time to prepare and eat a meal at home. However, the article also makes another interesting observation:“But there is something different about the backlash against cereal bowls, something more fundamental about it that seems to speak to a greater truth about American households today.

A 2014 national survey, conducted by Braun Research, found that 82 percent of parents said they were asked to do chores as children. But when they were asked if they required their children to do chores, only 28 percent of them said yes. ( https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-kids-chores-vanishing-balancing-20141013-column.html )

Wow you would never survive in my house . That is a generational shift in how families raise their kids. This disconnection from the consequences of everyday living appears to be turning even the most mundane of responsibilities, like doing the dishes, into unthinkable nuisances and raising a generation of self entitled  helpless brats .

Let’s face it: modern parents love and want the best for their children. And in an attempt to achieve that best, parents have pushed aside chore requirements because their children fussed over them or simply didn’t have time to handle them with the busyness of school, sports, and extra-curricular activities.

But have parents missed the fact that training their children to be diligent, capable, and efficient through the medium of chores might be one of the best ways to help their child become a success in the adult world?

The simple things like chores teach children discipline, confidence, persistence, and many other life skills. Skills many new to the workforce seem to be severaly lacking.  In an article in Business Insider about the mid-20s girl in California that mouthed off on Yelp and fired for it. This is another example of someone that lacked discipline to have good financial habits, lack of confidence that she could turn her situation around with hard work, had no persistence in that she wanted and expected more freebies. The typical Bernie Sanders voter I might ad .

I’m sure she’s now fuming at her former boss instead of appreciating her own mistakes because she does not seem to know better. Example of a self-entitled brat, and nobody wants that for a coworker. (https://www.businessinsider.com/stefanie-williams-response-to-yelp-employee-talia-jane-2016-2 )

Why Children Need Chores
Doing household chores has many benefits—academically, emotionally and even professionally.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-children-need-chores-1426262655

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Garrett Hits Back at SEC Official’s Defense of Commission’s Overuse of In-House Tribunals and callously disregard due process

Scott Garrett

Feb 2, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement after a senior SEC enforcement official last week defended the Commission’s increased use of in-house administrative law judges.

“It’s extremely distressing to see a senior SEC enforcement official so callously disregard the Constitutional and due process concerns that have been raised over the SEC’s in-house tribunals.  The Commission is missing the point that this isn’t about how many cases are won or lost – it’s about protecting every American’s due process rights and their ability to have a fair trial.  The SEC has become more concerned about making headlines than executing an effective enforcement program, and these comments are reflective of that approach.”

Garrett continues to put pressure on the SEC unlike Garrett’s Democratic challenger Josh Gottheimer who is a big proponent of Dodd – Frank and the institutionalization of the “too big to fail ” policies for all financial institutions . Gottheimer would have the government continue to bail out poorly run banks and Wall Street firms .

Garrett is the author of the Due Process Restoration Act that would  rein-in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial overuse of in-house administrative law judges and ensure that all Americans are given due process by allowing defendants the option of having their case heard before a federal court.

In the wake of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which granted the SEC expanded administrative enforcement powers, the SEC started trying an increasing number of alleged wrongdoers before its in-house administrative panels rather than in the federal courts established by Article III of the Constitution.

The SEC has heard repeated criticism of these in-house panels from defendants who feel they weren’t given due process, former SEC judges who felt pressure to rule in favor of the Commission, and U.S. District Judges who find the panels unconstitutional.

The Commission announced that it will be giving more legal safeguards to defendants that come before its in-house administrative panels. Unfortunately, the SEC’s proposed changes fall well short of addressing many of these concerns and its enforcement practices continue to violate the separation of powers guaranteed by the Constitution.

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North Bergen to sue Palisades General Medical Center over tax exempt status ,Valley in Ridgewood Could be Next

Valleywood_theridgewoodblog

BY NICHOLAS PUGLIESE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

North Bergen is poised to file a lawsuit challenging the tax exempt status of Palisades General Medical Center and The Harborage nursing home, whose 8.6-acre campus overlooking the Hudson River is some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

The filing, which the township’s Board of Commissioners approved Wednesday, comes on the heels of a precedent-setting Tax Court decision last summer in which a judge ruled that the non-profit Morristown Medical Center was not entitled to its property-tax exemption because its operations were little different from those of a for-profit company.

The ruling, and a subsequent $15.5 million settlement between Morristown and the hospital, raised the specter of a flood of legal challenges by cash-strapped municipalities seeking property taxes or payments in lieu of taxes from the 63 non-profit hospitals statewide. The state Legislature passed a bill in early January that would have circumvented more lawsuits by requiring non-profit hospitals to contribute financially to their hometowns based on the number of beds they have, but Gov. Christie vetoed it later that month without explanation.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-bergen-to-sue-palisades-general-medical-center-over-tax-exempt-status-1.1517051

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EPA did not disclose Ringwood contamination

epa-logo-11

BY SCOTT FALLON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Environmental regulators knew three months ago that a chemical that likely causes cancer was found for the first time at the Ringwood Superfund site, but on Tuesday defended their decision not to immediately disclose the information to the public, saying they do not consider it an imminent health threat.

Community leaders are angry they were not informed sooner. They said they should have been told shortly after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency received information in late November that the chemical 1,4-dioxane was detected at high levels in the groundwater just a few hundred feet from homes.

The EPA “should have called an emergency meeting,” said Vincent Mann, chief of the Rama­pough Turtle Clan, a Native American tribe that has made the mountains its home for at least 200 years. “I keep saying it over and over and over again, they are leaving the human element out of their management of this site.”

The discovery of 1,4-dioxane was made by engineers for Ford Motor Co., which dumped tons of toxic paint sludge nearly 50 years ago in Upper Ringwood.

Water samples taken from three wells west of Sheehan Drive in August found concentrations of 1,4-dioxane at 50 to 95 times New Jersey’s groundwater standard.

It was the first time scientists had looked for the chemical in Ringwood; the EPA only began requiring that 1,4-dioxane be tested for at Superfund sites nationwide last year, said Elias Rodriguez, an agency spokesman.

A report on the findings, dated Nov. 25, was sent to the EPA, which for years has been criticized for failing to ensure that the site is adequately cleaned up.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/epa-did-not-disclose-ringwood-contamination-1.1516597

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Tedesco signals that 2016 tax increase is possible in state of Bergen County address

photo courtesy of Maura DeNicola Packed Freeholder Meeting Room for the State of the County

photo courtesy of Maura DeNicola Packed Freeholder Meeting Room for the State of the County. — at One Bergen County Plaza

BY TODD SOUTH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

HACKENSACK — Bergen County Executive James Tedesco on Tuesday delivered his state of the county address, using the annual recounting of his administration’s accomplishments and plans to signal that the 2016 budget cycle will be tougher than its predecessor and that a tax increase is possible for 2016.

Employee health-care cost increases of $12 million and $3.4 million more for debt service on the largest construction project in county history will drive decisions on how to maintain services that Tedesco praised in his hour-long speech to a crowd of more than 100 mostly county employees and political office holders at the Bergen County Administration Building.

The combined $15.4 million increase for those two items alone is more than two thirds of the $22.6 million spending hike in the 2015 budget, which resulted in a 4.3 percent tax increase for property owners. Last year’s county budget totaled $530 million.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/tedesco-signals-that-2016-tax-increase-is-possible-in-state-of-bergen-county-address-1.1516469

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Ridgewood Emergency Services ambulances will now carry advanced continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP devices

Ridgewood Emergency Services
February 24,2016
the  staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Emergency Services ambulances will now carry advanced continuous positive airway pressure devices, which can help patients with breathing problems.The CPAP is a breathing device, which improves vital signs, gas exchange, lessens the work of breathing and decreases the sense of shortness of breath in patients who have pneumonia, asthma, and congestive heart failure to name a few.“Ridgewood is one of the few communities in the State of New Jersey that has its EMT’s trained in this advanced medical care as part of the emergency medical services”, says   Dr. Robert Lahita, Medical Director for Ridgewood Emergency Services. Advanced Life Support Paramedics from the hospitals could previously only provide this service.

The use of CPAP devices; administration of Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose; and the use of LUCAS automatic chest compression devices are among new practices authorized by the NJ Department of Heath for  agencies under the auspices of a Medical Director.“The inclusion of CPAP as an additional service offered by

Ridgewood EMTs highlights our effort to provide the Highest level of care available to Ridgewood,” said EMS Captain Murray Yang. “We have also initiated the protocol for the use of Aspirin in cardiac emergencies, which was just approved by the State Department of Health for EMT’s to administer.”

For the Month of January, Director and Chief Tony Lillo reported that Ridgewood Emergency Services responded to a total of 137 requests for aid for a total of 1656 volunteer hours.  There were 107 requests for Emergency Medical Services and 30 requests for Special Operations.