February 11, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 17 Wyckoff Wanderings Seniors plan events The Wyckoff Seniors Club meets every Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. in the Larkin House located at 380 Godwin Avenue. Upcoming events include a Valentine’s Party on Feb. 10, a Saint Patrick/Saint Joseph’s Day celebration on March 17, an anniversary lunch at the Tides on March 24, and a trip to Connecticut for lunch and entertainment at the Groton Inn with a two and a half hour stop at The Mohegan Sun Casino on April 21. Kindergarten registration set Kindergarten registration for Wyckoff residents will be held at the neighborhood schools on Tuesday, Feb. 24 for those students whose last names begin with A through L and Wednesday, Feb. 25 for those with last names beginning with M through Z. A child is eligible for kindergarten in September if he or she turns five years old on or before Oct. 1, 2009. Original birth certificate, four proofs of residency, and immunization data (DPT, polio, varicella vaccine, Hepatitis B and MMR, as documented by a physician) are required. For complete residency requirements and additional information on kindergarten registration, visit the district website @wyckoffschools.org. It is requested that children not be present at registration. Neighborhood schools are Coolidge School, 420 Grandview Avenue, (201) 848-5710; Lincoln School, 325 Mason Avenue, (201) 848-5720; Sicomac School, 356 Sicomac Avenue, (201) 848-5730; and Washington School, 270 Woodland Avenue, (201) 848-5740. Registration will be held from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. at each school. Cabaret evening comes to Beth Rishon Temple Beth Rishon will host an evening of cabaret style music on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the synagogue. The evening will include an eclectic musical venue including classical music, selections from the Broadway stage, contemporary compositions, classic rock, Israeli and Sephardic folk music, and a special tap dancing performance. The participants include Samantha Abramowitz, Gale Bindelglass, Melissa Canter, Erica Golubovsky, Mark Kantrowitz, Robin Kantrowitz, Gary Kirkpatrick, Jane Koch, Cantor Ilan Mamber, Rick Morand, Lisa Prawer, Stephanie Rosenblum, Cantor Ben Rosner, Sylvia Rubin, Naomi Schulman, Jo-Anne Skiena Garey, Fern Wilensky, Lindsay Wyck, and the Dance Starz directed by Tara Rota. Per- Police solve mystery of vehicle that sank in township pond by John Koster The Wyckoff Police Department was able to solve the tandem mysteries of a missing Jeep Grand Cherokee reported by a resident and a Jeep Grand Cherokee found unoccupied and half-sunk in the pond near the intersection of Wyckoff Avenue and Spring Meadow Drive: Both reports concerned same vehicle. On Feb. 1 at 1:44 p.m., a citizen reported that a Jeep was spotted in the pond at the same time a resident was at Wyckoff Police Headquarters reporting that his vehicle -- same make and model -- was missing. An investigation discovered that the vehicle in the pond was the resident’s vehicle, and a continued investigating revealed that the vehicle had been driven from the resident’s home by his 16-year-old son the previous night without the knowledge of his parents. About midnight, the unlicensed driver lost control of the vehicle, the Jeep struck the curb and several trees, and careened into the pond and came to rest on the passenger side. The boy was able to escape from the vehiformers play instruments including piano, drums, guitar, and violin. There will also be hors d’oeuvres, fruit, and desserts. Participants may bring beverages. Temple Beth Rishon members will be admitted free with reservations made prior to Wednesday, Feb. 25. For non-members and members without reservations, the cost is $10. The cost for students who are non-members is $5. Contact the synagogue office to make a reservation at (201) 891-4466 or for further information, contact Cantor Mamber at the synagogue or email him at cantor@bethrishon.org. The temple is located at 585 Russell Avenue in Wyckoff. Rainforest program scheduled The Friends of the Wyckoff Library will bring Rizzo’s Reptiles’ rainforest program to the library on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. Rizzo’s Reptiles will bring live animals that live in this unique habitat. Learn about the five layers of the rainforest and its precious and fragile balance of this ecosystem. This program will be held in the James Monroe Room. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the circula- cle without major injuries, and abandoned the Jeep and returned home without telling anyone about the accident, police said. The Jeep remained half-submerged in the pond for 14 hours before anyone noticed it. The pond is considerably below the road level and is screened by trees. Wyckoff Police and Bergen County Police and the Wyckoff Fire Department searched the pond for possible victims, but found none. The 16-year-old driver had said he was alone in the vehicle at the time of the accident. The boy was taken by his family to Valley Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash. He was charged with taking a vehicle without the consent of the owner, driving without a license, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an auto accident, and failure to report an accident. Police officers involved in the investigation included Sergeant Robert Mackay, Sergeant Jack McEwan, Patrolman William Plisich, Patrolman Peter Goodman, Patrolman Michael Musto, Patrolman Brian Zivkovich, and Patrolman Kevn Kasak. tion desk of the library located at 200 Woodland Avenue. This program is suitable for children from five to 10 years old. Sing-along planned Following last season’s successful workshop “Sixty Songs for 60 Years: Songs of Israel at 60” in honor of the State of Israel’s 60th anniversary, Temple Beth Rishon is presenting a monthly Israeli sing-along: “Shirah Betzibur: Songs of Israel.” This sing-along is led by Cantor Ilan Mamber and takes place once a month through May 2009 at Temple Beth Rishon, 585 Russell Avenue in Wyckoff. This program is free and open to the community. Sing and play some of the songs studied during last year’s workshop, and learn new ones. Guitars, percussion, and any other musical instruments are welcome. Upcoming sessions will take place on Feb. 11, March 25, April 22, and May 27. All the sessions will take place at 7 p.m. and will run approximately an hour. For more information about this course, contact Cantor Ilan Mamber at (201) 891-4466 or at cantor@bethrishon. org. Planners (continued from page 4) Preservation organization, a group of borough residents who opposed the plan, argued for and against the plan. Conte, Pullaro, and Lauber all voted in favor of approving the site plan for the housing development at the time, but each expressed misgivings with it although they said they felt obligated to vote for it based on the law and the borough’s ordinance that was written specifically for this affordable housing project. Pullaro pointed out at the time that the board must follow the law, but he said the plan was created, and the borough’s ordinance for the development was written, by a master planner appointed by the court and not the borough’s planner and engineer. However, he noted that the plan meets the state’s residential site improvement standards and no one had said it was not a safe development. After his vote to approve the plan, Conte said the board did the best possible job it could given the set of circumstances “being shoved down our throats” (by the court) and he emphasized that the board had improved the original plan. Following the board’s approval of the site plan, Lauber said he agreed with all the objections that had been raised about the project, but his decision to support it was based on his belief that the settlement agreement with the developer was reasonable and substantially in compliance with the court order that required the ultimate approval of the site for a mixture of market rate and affordable housing. Construction began on the site in the summer of 2005, and all 100 units are currently rented.