Wyckoff Suburban News from Wyckoff, New Jersey • A4

ture in which the victim is forced to inhale water and is suffocated. sounds really extremist, but we are in an extreme mode right Connolly said. qui- etly burying us in their problems, drowning us with their debt, and trying to find away out of Committeeman Brian Scanlan, who was elected in November, said he decided before he was sworn in on Jan. 1 that he would- accept a stipend. Instead, he said, his share would have been donated to the local fire depart- ment and ambulance corps.

the pressure the town is under, and the likely decrease in municipal aid, I sup- port that we not get a stipend 100 Scanlan said on Jan. 27. Fiorenzo said the finance sub- committee and the chief financial officer, Diana McLeod, would continue refining the budget with department heads until it is introduced to the public in March. DePreker said his former district had a position similar to the one that was being proposed. Trustee Wayne Peterson explained that nothing had hap- pened to necessitate creation of the position.

It was a preventative measure, he said, and he lauded Ceurvels for being proactive in a way he said would save money and improve the efficiency. very important to be look- ing forward and not in the rearview Peterson said. Ceurvels said the state has been regulations without rolling any back, and that these regulations sometimes seem in conflict with one another. Hiring an assistant business administrator and reducing the number of lower- level employees would provide school officials with greater exper- tise, which is necessary to keep track of the regulations. Ceurvels said there was some- one in his office he believedwould be qualified for the position, but that person would have to apply once the job is advertised.

depth and breadth of all these things coming down the pike require a different level of knowl- Ceurvels said. The lone objector to the resolu- tions on the job description and advertising was trustee TomMadi- gan, who said he believed that the topic had not been discussed in enough detail, nor had the benefits for the district been clearly defined. This is manifest in Weird series, which has become all the rage among elementary school students in recent years. There are 21 books in the series and five more in a supplementary series called Weird School (HarperCollins, 2008- 2009). The protagonist, A.J., hates school and encounters all kinds of outlandish grownups there a teacher who read, another whomakes dresses out of potholders and a hippie crossing guard, among them.

Principal Scott Blake said the series allows imagina- tions to run wild. really like the goofiness of the Blake said. dren want to think of school as a fun place, and they help but think of it as an adventure when they read his Gutman, who lives inHaddon- field with his wife, Nina, and two children, said he came upwith the idea for when he saw his daughter, Emma, read- ing Barbara B. (Random House, 1992- 2007), a series told through the eyes of a 6-year-old girl. thought there should be a series for that age group with a boy as the said.

thought a teacher who know how to read, write or do arithmetic would be Hewas right.HarperCollins ate up his first story, Daisy Is and askedGutman to cre- atemore and loony characters. But, as the author pointed out to the students, he always so successful. never had a real cause in Gutman said. when I see howmy books get kids so excited about reading, it is a very reward- ing feeling, and I realize that my cause in life is to promote Gutman graduated from Rut- gersUniversity in1977with abach- degree in psychology, but it until he spent fewunhap- py in graduate school that he knewwhat he wanted to do. has been said that if you do what you love, lovewhat you lucky to discover I couldwrite andmake a living at it.

So I advise kids to find a passion in life and seek a way to make a career out of that first book about off-the-wall grownups doing dumb things it was about computer games, Greatest (ComputeGames, 1985). And his first book did- appear until eight years later, a nonfiction title about baseball bloopers. It took Gutman a while to put pen to paper, but he looked back since, writing 80 books on subjects as specialized as ice skat- ing to one as fantastic as a 13- year-old president. And Gutman has tapped his love for sports by writing a series about some of greatest superstars, includingHonusWag- ner, Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth. children, who graduate from the zany stories of the Weird series, delve into his books about sports Ten Kate said.

take the guess- work out of choosing a book for many The next Weird School title, Jafee Is will appear on shelves in July. A 4 ,2 0 0 9 A 4 BRIEFS Police notify you with reverse 911 TheWyckoff PoliceDepartment would like to remind residents about its community notification system, also known as reverse 911. The system allows local police to notify residents and business own- ers about emergencies. Thousands of phone messages may be sent throughout the township, or to tar- geted neighborhoods, without depleting police resources. Every household and business in Wyckoff with either listed or unlisted phone numbers has been placed in a confidential database.

If the call is answered by an answeringmachine, the system will leave amessagewith informa- tion and instructions. Caller ID will indicate a call from theWyck- off Police Department. Ridgewood Water and the Wyckoff Board of Education maintain their own databases. Town Hall closed on Presidents Day Memorial Town Hall at Scott Plaza, 340 Franklin and the recycling center, 476 West Main will be closed on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 16.

Municipal offices and the recy- cling center will reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. The Wyckoff Public Library, 200 Woodland will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

on Presidents Day. There will be curbside garbage collection on Presidents Day, and, as scheduled, recyclables will be collected in districts 3 and 7. AUTHOR FROM PAGE 1 JOB FROM PAGE 1 STIPEND FROM PAGE 1 Securities and Insurance Products: NOT INSURED BY FDIC OR ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT OF OR GUARANTEED BY A BANK OR ANY BANK AFFILIATE Wachovia Securities, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate nonbank of Wachovia Corporation. Wachovia Securities, LLC 0408-84630 A1293-1009 Are you seArching for A finAnciAl Advisor? fA name Compliance-Approved Title Address and Suite Number City Name, State Zip xxx-xxx-xxxx 8xx-xxx-xxxx Web or Email Address Are you unhappy with your current advisor? Are your accounts receiving the service they deserve? Are you struggling to manage your portfolio on your own? Has your portfolio not lived up to your expectations? Experience the Wachovia Securities difference. If you are looking for a advisor that stands apart from the crowd, come and see what makes us different.

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