The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey • 11

Home News Tribune jOG AL NEIGHBORS OBITUARIES B5 B6 SOUTH RIVER: Measure may chase residents already short of parking spots. B2 REGION: Cop willing to pay parking fine for toy-drive volunteer he ticketed. B2 MIDDLESEX COUNTY: Group lobbies to open or extend bus routes in Old Bridge, Jamesburg, Monroe, East Brunswick, South Amboy and Perth Amboy. B3 DATEBOOK BUSINESS B7 B8 Thursday, Decmber 24, 1998 Developer "needs permits before getting financing By FRANCES CARROLL STAFF WRITER Borough officials do not expect to receive a promised $240,000 develop- er's contribution MILLTOWN frm risa Realtv by the Dec. 31 deadline, but they believe a local-tax increase can be avoided.

Surplus revenue from 1997 and a near 100 percent tax-collection rate could keep the 1998 budget in the black, they said. Business Administrator Chris Parlow said Tuesday there will be no deficit in the 1998 budget even without the $240,000 because the borough has approximately $150,000 in unspent budget surplus from 1997 and collected about $150,000 more in taxes than it had anticipated this year. The only difference in not collecting the contribution this year is that the 1998 budget surplus is $240,000 less than it would have been if the See Deal, Page B2 much as $2.65 million, as specified in the original redevelopment agreement. The developer's contribution is part of that original redevelopment agreement, so it is not expected to be paid to the borough until the amended agreement is signed by both sides, said council members Sean Leary, Eric Steeber and Kevin Bosworth. The Borough Council relied heavily on the promise that the contribution from the Ryders Crossing shopping center developer would be made this year when it created the 1998 municipal budget, which included little surplus reserves for unexpected emergencies.

The one-time contribution, which represents more than 5 cents on the Whatever the religion, be at peace The question to the mayor was a fat soft-ball, lobbed by me of all people. This week, the North Brunswick police Department held a 10th birthday party for Justin Maldonado, the victim of unspeakable horror. Maldonado and his mother were walking along the shoulder of Route 1 when a drunken hit-and-run driver struck and killed the mother. The boy, an only child now living with grandparents in Perth Amboy, saw the whole thing. The police took up a collec- tion and came up with more than $1,800.

Local businesses donated toys and restaurants donated food, and the boy and OUT A FAMILY TRADITION 9. IS" '-tJLH, tV 1 1 1 'VS. I municipal property-tax rate, was cited as an important factor that made the no-tax-increase 1998 municipal budget possible. Council members this week said the three-month hospitalization of Arisa owner Mordy Lipkis has slowed negotiations on an amended redevelopment agreement. Arisa is expected to waive its right to a low-interest, 30-year borough loan of as A Ji; 'It' if 1i v.

ft much lately. His hectic schedule hasn't allowed it, and that bothers him. He fears once he stops playing there will be nobody to take his place. "I'm it. When I'm not around, they don't get played," Harding said.

"I tried to get (my two brothers) to Neighbors ger OFFICE IN ACTION Workers' gift swap yields to aid effort By DIANE HERBST STAFF WRITER About a decade ago, the faculty and staff at Rutgers' Center for Government Services tired of spending money on Christmas gifts for office mates. They wanted to put their dollars to- ward more RUTGERS UNIVERSITY So each a since'; when talk of the an- a 1 Christ- i party arises, a notice is ANNIVERSARY Needy Cases Donors to the Needy Cases Fund: Tax-deduct'ble contributions may be sent to The Needy Cases Fund, do Home News Tribune, 35 Kennedy East Brunswick, NJ 08816. passed around, asking for dona- tions to the Needy Cases Fund of the -Home News Tribune, in lieu 1 of office gifts. This year's donation, from the staff of 26, was $245. "It makes more sense than 2 to buy somebody something they don't need; it's a better use of our money," said Linda Guardabascio, departmental administrator of the Center, a part of the Edward J.

Blous- tein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Bruns- wick. The center provides contin- uing education classes for local government officials. i- Almost every year, a different staffer takes over the duties of collecting the money, i This year, it was the turn of Jackie Zelinka, Program De-velopment Administrator. Guardabascio noted that the Center staff doesn't designate a specific case when mailing in their check. "We just do it," she said.

rilitii RINGING By BRENDA BARBOSA STAFF WRITER orris Harding is the modern-day man in the bell tower. True, the New Brunswick -man doesn't have the crooked gait or meager existence of Victor Hugo's tragic hero. He isn't trapped in isolation or madly in love with a gypsy woman. No, Harding has a funky red sports car, a bright smile and a hobby not too many people have. For 15 years, Harding, 32, has climbed the rickety steps leading to the dusty bell tower at St.

Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Somerset Street to make sweet music. "They say all surgeons are in some way artistic," said Harding, a second-year resident at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and a former choirboy. "I guess this is my way of I'm it. When I'm not around, they don't get played." Norrls Harding BELL RINGER showing it." High in the church's steeple hang nine copper bells. Yards of frazzled rope stream down the middle of the tower connecting the clappers to a "keyboard" some 50 feet below.

Dangling from thick wooden beams, the bells look old and tired, not exactly the mighty instruments cast in New York and hoisted into place in the late 1800s. But with the yank of a lever, Harding summons the bells alive. Pushing down hard on the wooden keys, eyes fixed on a yellowing piece of sheet music, Harding cranks out the notes to "Come All Ye Faithful." Down below on the street, curious passers-by gaze up at the tower, almost startled by the powerful sounds that cut through the chilly air. "It sounds lovely," chirped one woman. Tired and out of breath yet clearly enjoying the attention Harding turns to a reporter who had schlepped up the skinny stairs to watch him play one afternoon, and with a slight smile asks, "Any more requests?" Without waiting for a response, he rings out another tune.

Indeed, playing the bells is something Harding loves to do. It's a tradition that has lived in his family for several generations. His grandfather used to tug on the heavy ropes with his bare hands before Harding was born, and his older cousin played during midnight mass. "I used to sit on the steps and watch my cousin play," Harding said. "I just thought it was the coolest thing." Over the years the tower's graying walls have been carved with initials, some belonging to members of the Harding clan.

On one wall, a wom- TomLo-pardo, left, and Michael Marchese build a wheelchair ramp for disabled neighbor Kay Kozma in East Brunswick yesterday. RICH SCHULTZ Special to the Home Newt Tribune 1l his grandpar- ents appreciated the kindness. The soft-ball question to Mayor went something RICK MALWITZ like this: What does this party tell you about your township? It said people are kind, and cops have a heart, he said. He was proud to be mayor. It also was an appropriate gesture, considering this is the Christmas season.

There are bad things to say about the Christmas season about the mall-to-mall hustle and bustle. I can handle hustle. Bustle is another story. There is hypocrisy about feeling compelled to give Uncle Hank and Aunt Marilyn a toaster oven, which they don't need and you don't want to buy. Many of us fear the true meaning of Christmas is lost, though we're the one's who are lost, since biblical historians say the best evidence indicates Jesus was born in February.

Still, anytime we can get pagans to sing "God and sinners reconciled," we consider it a small victory. Modern Christmas was invented in the 1800s by Charles Dickens and R.H. Macy. In the 1950s, according to historian Daniel Boorstin, Jews figured it was futile to fight the Christmas spirit, so they elevated an obscure holiday called Hanukkah. Over the last few decades increasing numbers of African-Americans have observed Kwanzaa, a holiday aimed at fostering awareness of African roots.

In 1997 it even merited a stamp. This year, many of us learned about Ramadan, when President Clinton said he hoped he could get the bombing out of the way before the Islamic holiday began. How thoughtful. Yet to be heard from are gay orthodox Celtics, who I suppose have something to celebrate in December. Several cops in North Brunswick mentioned The Season at the party for Justin Maldonado.

After all the kid had gone through, he deserved a lift. It was rich to see him so happy, and rich for the men and women at the Municipal Building to give the boy a present or some money for a trust fund or just a hug. What Matacera said about the good people of North Brunswick he could have said about any town. Most people want to do good; the rotten bnes just get more press. This time of year, kids sing carols in nursing homes, the president serves lasagne at a soup kitchen, newspapers tend to needy families with holiday funds and a pizza chain donates pies to Salvation Army shelters in 14 cities.

Its theme: "Pizza on Earth, Good Will to Men." Christmas. Hanukkah. Kwanzaa. Ramadan. Pizza all around.

'Tis the season to be jolly. The more the merrier. Rick Malwitz's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call us; For local JASON TOWLENStafl photographer Norris Harding practices playing the bells in the bell tower of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in New Brunswick recently, top and above right.

Harding, shown with the bells, is the third generation of his family to play the bells. do it, but they have other interests." There's another problem he's worried about, too. The bells and their carriage are old and haven't been repaired since they were installed more than 100 years ago. The ropes See Bells, Page B2 an's face, sketched in black chalk, watches over the keys. "Who put her there?" asked the reporter.

"It was there even before I got here," responded Harding. "But I wouldn't put that in the article." Harding hasn't been able to play unite to aid woman, 81 By GEORGE FRANCY STAFF WRITER Even today, Christmas Eve, Kay Kozma will be going for her dialysis treatment. But the trip will be a lot smoother this time. EAST Kozma's neighbors yesterday BRUNSWICK built a wooden ramp sloping down MMBa from the front door of Kozma's Highview Road home. Instead of a treacherous struggle down the steps, Kozma can now glide in her wheelchair to the car that her husband, Ernie, uses three times a week to drive her to treatments.

The ramp has lifted the neighbors' spirits, helping to beat the frigid 20-degree or lower temperatures as they worked yesterday. "Happy to do it," said Michael Marchese, the head ramp builder, who had no hesitation in taking on the project for his neighbors of 30 years. "What more could you do?" "It's the right time of year," said his brother, Rob Marchese, who helped yesterday, along with Tom Lo-1 pardo and Kevin McCann, who are both New Bruns-wick firefighters. See Ramp, Page B2 I I coverage, f732) 246-5500, Todd Bell, Et. 7253 or John Loftus, Ext.

725f, local editors On the Internet: www. injerey. comlhnt.