The Ridgewood News from Ridgewood, New Jersey • A1

Awarded Best Community Newspaper in New Jersey 2010 and 201 1 HOMEMADE GREEK Local ladies share recipes, bi A huge boost RHS football team rebounds from two losses, ci Lasting legacy 'Mr. Lester's Stable' is gift to village. A3 SERVING THE VILLAGE SINCE 1889 The Ridgewood News 50 CENTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012 Work handed in on time VILLAGE COUNCIL Water utility's wish list presented LEAF COLLECTION Revised policy is bagged Council presents new ordinance George Washington Middle School Assistant Principal Caroline Hoffman (left) and Principal Katie Kashmanian cut the ceremonial ribbon celebrating the finish of referendum work at the school. Hi 'jH BH iiH iiiiiBiHl HHi MIHIHH iiiH MARION BROWN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER District referendum construction coming to close ciates, which worked on the It really took years of study Brogan also thanked Fishbein BY DARIUS AMOS Staff Writer Ridgewood Water will purchase more than $800,000 worth of cold water meters and install them throughout its distribution area as part of the village department's capital projects. The governing body agreed to appropriate $815,000 to cover all costs of Rin-tirkpt Procuring and Dig UCKei installing the items meters.

The price includes CaP'tal a $40,750 projects down pay-proposed by ment- Ridgewood Ridgewood bfl- Water officials Water: recently pre- Well rehab: sented a wish list of other $175,000 proposed cap- Distribution Prots and expendi-system tures The upgrades: total bill dated with the projects, as Construction presented by building's renovation. A new gym and library, as well as new classrooms and small-group instructional spaces, are among the changes at the school. The group assembled outside the new gym entrance to hear speeches by Superintendent Dan Fishbein and BOE President Sheila Brogan. GW Principal Katie Kashmanian and Assistant Principal Caroline Hoffman cut the ceremonial ribbon. once the board decided on a building plan," said Fishbein, who thanked all the contributors to the project, including the taxpayers, for supporting what he called a "grassroots effort." He asked Kashmanian to cut the ribbon rather than himself.

"While I came here every day, she lived here every day and had to deal with all the disruptions. And there were a lot of disruptions," he said. for his work. "He doesn't have to take Turns anymore, because the job will be smoother this year," she joked. According to LAN Associates Vice President Stephen Secora, all main systems at GW are now in operation, but it will take another month or so to complete the final punch-list items.

He expressed pride in the work at See CONSTRUCTION, page A7 BY LAURA HERZ0G Staff Writer After years of planning and construction at George Washington Middle School (GW), a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday was attended by parents, educators, several Board of Education (BOE) members and employees of the architecture and engineering firm LAN Asso- BY DARIUS AMOS Staff Writer The Ridgewood Council went back to the drawing board Wednesday night, defeating previously introduced changes to the municipal leaf removal policy and presenting a new ordinance with fewer changes to the Village Code. In a "less-is-more" move, council members agreed that the former proposal to modify the leaf policy might have done more bad than good for the village and its residents. Mayor Paul Aronsohn said he and his council colleagues made their decision after considering the arguments presented to them last month and over the past two weeks. "This might be a solution that's in search of a problem. Maybe we're already there," Aronsohn said of the defeated ordinance.

While rejecting the original changes to the policy, the council also introduced a new ordinance during this week's public meeting. The most noticeable differences in the new ordinance are regulations governing the placement of leaves. As introduced, the new proposal now omits a list of 10 roadways, including both directions of Glen, Maple and Pleasant avenues, that had been the target for a number of restrictions. The village street department originally identified the busiest thoroughfares and those that posed the greatest challenges following last October's snowstorm. Now, instead of placing specific leaf removal restrictions on those streets, general provisions have been written and, if passed, will cover all village roads.

The proposed ordinance See POLICY, page A7 HABERNICKEL eauinment: Ridgewood Water Director Frank $115,000 Additional upgrades for park planned Standby Moritz, is nnwer ctudv approximately power study. miUion $220,000 Requests from Ridgewood Water, as well as other village departments, are still being refined, Village Manager Ken Gabbert said. The projects will be up for council approval as early as Oct. 24. According to Moritz, Ridgewood Water is seeking $350,000 to conduct general improvements to the distribution system.

This See UTILITY, page A7 Grand opening Habernickel Family Park, 1037 Hillcrest Road Sunday, Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. Activities include nature scavenger hunt, guided walking tours, photo exhibits, live music and refreshments. Hot air balloon rides are $10 per ticket. For more information or special accommodations, call the Department of Parks and Recreation at 201-670-5560.

cost to Ridgewood taxpayers. Ridgewood officials applied for a Bergen County block grant of $90,000 to help offset the expense of installing proposed ADA accessible restroom facilities. Village staff had previously prepared preliminary designs for the new restrooms, which will be built at the former horse barn structure. At the least, a basic and See HABERNICKEL, page A6 BY DARIUS AMOS Staff Writer Residents who visit Irene Habernickel Family Park will notice a difference at the former horse farm over the course of the next year. Changes to the aesthetics and comforts are currently being planned and will likely, village officials hope, come at little or no RIDGEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL TERRIE ()'CONNOR Alumnus joins a 'distinguished' group REALTORS my Awards for her work on "Raging Bull," "The Aviator" and "The Departed." There is also Peter Em (Class of 1975), a renowned professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was named president of Merck Research Laboratories in 2003.

Joining 11 other names on the wall last Friday was physicist David Coward (Class of 1952), who, with his contributions to the field of particle physics, fits right in. Coward was part of the 1990 Nobel Prize-winning team in See ALUMNUS, page A6 BY LAURA HERZ0G Staff Writer Ridgewood High School (RHS) has some very notable alumni. On the wall of distinguished alumni outside the principal's office, there is Helen Knothe Nearing (Class of 1921), an author who, with her husband, played an important role in the back-to-the-land small-scale farming movement of the late 1960s. There is Thelma Schoonmaker (Class of 1957), a Hollywood film editor who has won three Acade CARMINE GALASSO THE RECORD David Coward, a 1952 Ridgewood High School graduate, received the district's Distinguished Alumni Award last week. INDEX 2 Acre Gated Estate! 5 Bedrooms and 4V2 Baths 1st Floor Master Bedroom Suite OPEN HOUSE! SATURDAY 1-4 p.m.

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