The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • 4

3 THE RECORD L-3 FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2000 RIVER VALE STUDENTS MEET THE PROS Wniftomig tlhieiir min tichei Help in war on domestic violence Grant funds crisis-response teams 1 i v-f f'6SI VI i i 1 Special lo The Record HACKENSACK As someone who trains others in domestic abuse issues, Midland Park Police Chief Thomas R. Monarque knows that sensitivity is crucial. He said coping with an abuser who is also someone the victim loves is difficult. Having to then tell the story to a uniformed officer can make the ordeal more intimidating. "As sympathetic and empathet-ic as uniformed police officers are, I think a victim will relate better to a volunteer," Monarque said.

With a state grant providing seed money, a program that connects local volunteers with those who come forward to report domestic abuse will be introduced into several communities, and expanded in another. Stressing that "domestic violence will not be tolerated," the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, in conjunction with local police departments and advocacy agencies, on Thursday announced the inception of Domestic Violence Crisis Response Teams. Funded by a $20,000 grant under the auspices of the Stop Violence Against Women program, the project will mobilize and train volunteers to provide emotional support, assistance, and information to victims. With the aid of volunteers, officials hope, victims will gain a better understanding of the criminal complaint process and be encouraged to see their cases through by working with police and prosecutors. Having volunteers disseminate information about community resources will free up police officers to pursue investigations.

Ideally, prosecutors said, such partnerships would flourish throughout Bergen County. Marie Purcell, coordinator of New Milford's crisis response team, said embarrassment is often the first reaction from those who report domestic incidents. "Once we get past that point and explain to them that it's not their fault, they seem to settle down and open up," Purcell said. In a casual, quiet setting, Purcell said, a trained volunteer can sit with the victim and talk about options, such as obtaining a temporary restraining order or finding a place to stay if home has become too dangerous. The grant proposal, prepared by the Prosecutor's Office, points out that domestic violence victim assistance programs have been piloted in New Milford, Teaneck, and Fort Lee.

All three towns have reported significant declines in domestic violence incidents, although the reason is not clear. The grant provides for volunteers to receive at least 40 hours of training from Shelter Our Sisters, a domestic violence service agency. After training, volunteers will be on call. Municipal police officers will also receive training on how best to utilize volunteers. Because some communities face unique challenges, part of the program's focus is to recruit volunteer teams that mirror those communities.

For example, Leonia has an Asian population of about 42 percent, said acting Police Chief August Greiner. "We already have people willing to jump on board with us, and we haven't even staYted recruitment yet," Greiner said Thursday. Elaine K. Meyerson, executive director of Shelter Our Sisters, and Debra K. Donnelly, director of the county Department of Human Services' Alternatives to Domestic Violence program, said the crisis response teams represent the point where "all the elements of the system come together." DANIELLE P.

RICHARDSSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Paul Zindel, a Pulitzer Prize winner, offered tips and gave the keynote speech Wednesday at a school symposium on writing. Workshops on words give clue to future Suspect's use of parents' car helps police arrest 2 wanted in holdup pulled into the park. The women noted the suspect's license plate and passed it on to police. Negron was brought in for questioning a few days later, but police did not have enough evidence to charge him, Zimick said. New information, which Zimick would not disclose, led police to arrest Negron at his Sixth Street home Wednesday afternoon.

A short time later, Alicea turned himself in to police, he said. Negron is charged with robbery, criminal restraint, conspiracy, possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose. His bail was set at $25,000. Alicea was charged with robbery, conspiracy, and criminal restraint. He was being held on $15,000 bail.

PAULO LIMA GARFIELD Police on Thursday said they were able to solve a February holdup in a county park because one of the suspects drove his parents' car there. Melvin Negron, 19, and Enrique Alicea 22, both of Passaic, were charged Wednesday with the Feb. 12 robbery in Belmont Park. Their getaway car, a 1988 Toyota, belongs to Negron's parents, said Bergen Police Lt. Bob Zimick.

A 17-year-old Englewood girl and an 18-year-old Garfield woman, had pulled into the park about 1 1:30 p.m. to consult a map when a car rolled up behind them, blocking them in, Zimick said. The car's driver, later identified as Negron, stepped out holding a heavy steel anti-theft device, Zimick said. He demanded money from the women but was scared off empty-handed when another car choosing the ones of most interest. "I thought writing would be boring, sitting at a keyboard, being all stressed out," A.

J. Eckstein, 14, said after attending Zindel's workshop and hearing how he travels to foreign countries and negotiates script deals with television studios. "I was impressed." In Jesse and Alex Burton's class on film production, CDs, and the music industry, students learned from someone not much older than themselves. Jesse, 19, and Alex, 17, former Holdrum School students, now attend New York University and Pascack Valley High School, respectively. In their spare time, they have formed a popular rock band and started a record company.

Jesse Burton, a business and marketing major, said writing is the core of what they do because "you have to know how lyrics function in a song." Lewis, the recording artist, had similar advice as she told students how she sat in the same classrooms in the mid-1980s. Now 28, Lewis lives in Manhattan, has written songs for prime-time television, and just cut her first CD. Yet she said she didn't want to miss the opportunity to come back to River Vale and talk to students who might have the same dream she had. "It's what our profession is all about watching people discover music," said Lewis, who performs acoustic-based rock and pop music. "At this age, they are so open to it.

They are like sponges." His workshop was one of 20 held to build interest in writing and to highlight how important the craft will be to the students as adults. "We're emphasizing writing and recognizing the value of using writing for learning," said Phyllis Prestia, principal of the Grades 6-8 school. "It's something the whole school is doing. We're using writing in every subject area." In social studies, for example, students were required to write firsthand accounts of historical figures, explaining how they fit into the era in which they lived. The climax of those exercises came in Wednesday's symposium, with an assortment of authors, songwriters, magazine editors, advertising writers, and college professors visiting the school.

In one hour-long workshop, Susan Ungaro, editor-in-chief of Family Circle magazine, had youngsters writing eyecatching lines for a teen magazine cover. In another group session, Michelle Lewis, a recording artist and songwriter, critiqued students as she showed them how to add lyrics to a tune. And Barbara Buettner, who conducts various writing workshops, explained how a story changes depending on whether it is told through a main character, a minor character, or a narrator. During the three-hour symposium, sponsored by the Board of Education and the local Parent Teacher Association, students got a chance to acquaint themselves with fields in which they have shown an interest. Though there were 20 workshops, each student could attend only two, By JOHN A.

GAVIN Stall Writer RIVER VALE In one classroom at Holdrum School, students got to pose questions to a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. Down the hall, others worked with the editor of a national magazine. And in another, students' efforts were were critiqued by a recording artist and songwriter. Those workshops and others were part of a special writers' symposium that had classrooms abuzz Wednesday at the 390-student school. Professionals gave insight into their careers, quizzed students to evaluate their skills, and explained how relevant writing is to their jobs.

Paul Zindel, a Pulitzer Prize winner whose novels were required reading for students, gave guidance on how to develop the plot of a mystery. Almost everyone in the group knew the action that took place in Zindel's frightful tale "Rats." But what if there was a story idea they wanted to develop into something just as spooky? Zindel's study group was the place to learn how. "Becoming a writer is like anything else. If you have a goal in life, you go after it," said Zindel, 63, also the keynote speaker at an assembly program. Zindel, who lives in Montague in Sussex County and teaches part time at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, told students some of the secrets of good writing and recommended books that could sharpen their skills.

TEANECK: Schools Because Teaneck is mostly residential, property owners shoulder about 84 percent of the tax burden. ciation and some of its leaders did not return calls for comment Thursday afternoon. Mayor Gus D'Ercole and council members also could not be reached for comment. The lawyer for the church, Allen Bell, said he is reluctant to make too much of the judge's ruling since the process is not yet over. "We view this as a step toward ultimately having a church there," he said.

"This is one step we had to take." Norwood Civic Association, a residents group formed to fight the church project, have said they might appeal the matter to the Borough Council. That appeal would be aimed at putting the zoning variance back on the table. The judge's ruling technically only applies to the zoning board, and the council can overrule the zoning board, Trapani said. It's unclear what will happen next. The lawyer for the civic asso original plan called for seating for 720.

But Trapani said the changes may not be enough to satisfy concerns about impact on traffic and the environment. "That's a nice gesture, don't get me wrong," he said. "But I don't know what the magic number is to say it's fine for traffic, it's fine for safety, it's fine for the environment, it's fine for the master plan." Trapani said members of the District losing business administrator From Page L-1 Because Teaneck is mostly residential and has avoided the commercial and retail buildup of other Bergen County towns, property owners shoulder about 84 percent of the township's tax burden. "In Teaneck, there are so few ratables that it falls on the backs of the taxpayers," Angeli said. "You can see why people in town, especially those on fixed incomes, would be upset." Yet this year's school budget contains no lavish expenditures or appropriations for new programs, said Vincent Doyle, the district's business administrator and school board secretary.

"It's a try-to-hold-the-line budget," he said. Doyle said school officials will look to trim expenditures over the next three weeks and emphasized that the budget figures, including the tax levy, are "preliminary" and could be lowered. "This is an awfully big number." he said, "and we're going to try like heck to get it down." But a sharp rise in the cost of paying for Teaneck students enrolled in out-of-district special education programs is causing expenses to rise despite the district's frugality. Budget figures show that the district will pay an estimated $5.6 million for such programs. That's $1.7 million or about 45 percent higher than the $3.9 million the district paid last year.

"We're dealing with the unfunded mandate of high-cost special education placement." Doyle said. "Nobody is objecting to the place- By LISA GOODNIGHT CHURCH From Page L-1 ing more than 700 worshipers. The chairman of the zoning board, Robert Trapani, said Thursday that he is dismayed by the judge's decision, which does nothing to ease his concerns about the church. "To tell you the truth, I wish I could've heard it Cho Dae's application again," Trapani said. "I was so disappointed." But the fight over the church isn't necessarily over.

Though the decision allows the congregation to build a church in some form, Cho Dae must still go back to the zoning board for approval of its site plan, which details the size and scope of the building. Choi said church leaders want to work with borough officials, and as a measure of goodwill are working to pare the plans for the building by as much as 10 percent. "We'd like to work with them," Choi said. "We don't just want to insist on our right." Choi said Cho Dae is considering changes, including cutting the size of the church's planned gymnasium from 10,000 square feet to about 7,000 square feet, and trimming the sanctuary so it seats between 650" and 670 people. The ment of those students or the need for the programs, but lawmakers make mandates and then put no monev behind it." Doyle's concerns sound much like the comments Ventura made Monday while in Washington for a governors conference.

Ventura raised the issue of unfunded mandates on national television after interviewer Diane Sawyer asked him what Clinton's top priority should be during his last 10 months in office. Ventura immediately brought up paying for the federal mandate for special education. "I'm all for special ed," he said. "But it's a mandate from the federal government that it should fund." In Teaneck. this year's budget also includes a sizable expense arising from a state mandate: a $1.77 million appropriation to fund Teaneck's charter school, up from $1.55 million last year.

Experimental charter schools are state-mandated institutions, and Teaneck and others have voiced strong opposition to paying for them. adding that filling the position is crucial given the recent passage of a $10.4 million referendum to upgrade two schools. The business administrator and board secretary, along with other officials, will oversee the project. "Others are going to have to step in and take up the slack. Who will that be? I don't know at this point.

The job's going to get done," said board President Larry Bon-giovanni, who sits on the personnel committee. The board will most likely accept Lester's resignation at its March 23 meeting. His last day will be April 28; he is scheduled to start in Tinton Falls in May. "I will make every effort to The Tinton Falls school district has about 1.900 students. East Rutherford has about 450.

Prior to joining the East Rutherford district, Lester was business administrator in Harrington Park and Englewood Cliffs, and assistant business administrator for the Mount Olive school district in Morris County. He also served as a business teacher and dean of faculty at Centenary College in Hackettstown. Colleagues said Lester will be missed. "It's going to be hard to replace him. We worked together as a team.

I certainly support whatever career decision he makes but lament the fact that we weren't able to hold on to said. Stsri Writer EAST RUTHERFORD The business administrator for the K-8 school district is calling it quits after six years. Edward Lester, 62, will take a similar position for a larger K-8 school district in Tinton Falls, Monmouth County. "It's change. It's a new challenge," Lester said.

"I could retire tomorrow. I'm not ready to retire. I'd much rather work." Lester said he will earn about 5 percent more than his current $76,000 salary in East Rutherford and will not have tenure. He said money was not his main concern. Superintendent James Opiekun said the personnel committee will discuss finding a replacement.

make sure transi- a tion. Lester said..