February 25, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 23 Park Windmill Reid to present spring gardening seminar The Friends of the Midland Park Memorial Library will again welcome Master Gardener Dail Reid on Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. The topic will be “Hooping it Up: A Primer on Standing Tall.” Reid is the Bergen County Rutgers Cooperative Extension horticultural consultant and diagnostician. Reid will have creative ideas for gardens this season. He will answer questions on pruning plants and how to eliminate bugs on favorite flowers and vegetables. Reid has the answers and green solutions for you. The program is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the library and at the adjacent municipal lot. Enter from Highland Avenue. For further information, contact the Midland Park Memorial Library at (201) 4442390. Baseball umpires needed The Midland Park Baseball Association is seeking umpires to help with the spring/summer league. To qualify for an umpire’s position, applicants must be in grade eight or above and must attend the two hour umpire clinic to be held at the Barn. Clinic dates are March 1 and 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Applicants should e-mail Tom Bardzell at tbardzell@verizon.net or call at (201) 493-0963. Baseball meeting scheduled The Midland Park Baseball Association will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Highland School Media Center. All coaches and parents who are interested are welcome and encouraged to attend. Baseball applications are also available on the MPBA website www.eteamz.com/MidlandParkBaseballAssociation. If there are any additional questions, send an e-mail to midlandparkbaseball@gmail.com. Completed applications may also be mailed to: MPBA POB 501, Midland Park, New Jersey 07432. Kindergarten registration set The Midland Park School District advises parents of prospective kindergarteners that pre-registration will be done by phone from Monday, Feb. 23 through Thursday, Feb. 26. To pre-register, parents should call (201) 445-5350 from 10 to11:30 a.m. or from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Those with last names beginning with letter A-M should call either Monday or Wednesday. Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z may call Tuesday or Thursday. At this time, parents will be scheduled for full registration and screening during the week of March 23. In order to be eligible for enrollment, children must be age five before Oct. 1, 2009. Knights plan Fish & Chips Dinner The Midland Park Knights of Columbus will hold its annual Fish & Chips Dinner on the first Friday of Lent, Feb. 27, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The dinner will be held in Kennedy Hall at the Church of the Nativity. The cost of the dinner is $12.50. Argyle’s will provide the dinner. Macaroni and cheese will be available for children for $3. Dinners will be available for takeout. Tickets are available after all weekend masses or by calling Rich at (201) 652-6945 or Jack at (201) 670-6765. Lenten activities offered Midland Park United Methodist Church will hold an Ash Wednesday worship service on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. As part of the Lenten season, there will be a prayer meeting every Wednesday of Lent at 7 p.m. in preparation for the commemorate the sacrifice of Christ on the cross on Good Friday. Spiritual Journey 201 will be held on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 through April 2. Everyone is invited to these Lenten events. The Midland Park United Methodist Church is located at 269 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park. Adult Karaoke Night set Midland Park Recreation is sponsoring an Adult Karaoke Night on Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 to 10 p.m. at the DePhillips Community Center, 50 Dairy Street. Come out to the beautifully refurbished Community Center and enjoy some local talent. Suggestions form new programs are always welcome. To contact the recreation department, call (201) 652-2747. MPPEF to hold Fun Night Set aside Saturday, March 7, for an innovative Fun Night planned by the Midland Park Public Education Foundation. The event includes activities for Midland Park students ages five to 12 at the Superdome, 134 Hopper Avenue, in Waldwick, from 7 to 10 p.m. Children will be grouped by age and guided by Superdome staff through various sports including soccer, kickball, dodge ball, volleyball, football, baseball, tug-of-war, and an obstacle course, with trainers at each station. Entertainment also includes a DJ, a moonwalk, and video arcade games. The cost per child is $20, which includes pizza, unlimited drinks and snacks, and limited game tokens for the arcade. Supervision will be provided by the Superdome staff and MPPEF volunteers. Parents are not required to stay. To sign up, go to the calendar section of www.mppef. org. For more information, contact Colleen Monahan, (201) 445-2802. Funds raised at Fun Night will help to ensure MPPEF’s mission to enhance the academic experience of children attending public schools in Midland Park. More information and tickets are available on the MPPEF Web site at www.mppef.org. The MPPEF is an all-volunteer 501(c) 3 organization whose mission is to enhance the academic experience of children attending public schools in Midland Park. Through the efforts of the foundation, grants are awarded to teachers enabling them to bring exciting state-of-the-art learning opportunities and technologies into the classroom. For more information about the MPPEF visit mppef.org. Blood drive set Kuiken Brothers and Community Blood Services will host a Midland Park Community Blood Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Kuiken Brothers, 145 Lake Avenue. The drive will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call Louie Cicchella at (201) 705-5333. All types of blood are needed, especially types O- and O+. Any healthy individual age 17 through 75 and weighing at least 110 pounds can donate blood. Donors should eat a moderate meal before donating and must bring identification showing signature. All donors receive a complimentary cholesterol screening with every blood donation. New children’s program offered A new program for children with special needs, Me & My Shadow, will be offered by Midland Park Recreation. This will be a small group program for children in grades two through six. Recreation Director Lori Dent will lead the program assisted by adult and teen volunteers. It is especially designed to meet the unique needs and abilities of a child with special needs through non-competitive games and music, an arts-and-crafts segment, and a cooking segment with Chef Sam. Classes will meet at the DePhillips Community Center at 50 Dairy Street, Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. March 14 through April 4. Registration fee $20, visit www.mpnj.com for registration form. Library (continued from page 9) is, in fact, violating one of its own fundamental principles by asking the legislature to further regulate what is, in fact, a local matter. The trustees have asked the borough’s governing body to take every possible step to persuade the NJ League of Municipalities to reverse its position and to oppose the legislation. The library board of trustees’ request was discussed at a recent meeting of the mayor and council, but there was a mixed reaction to it. Mayor DeNicola pointed out that fundraising by the Friends of the Library is half of what it was last year, and the library is being used more than ever now by people who have lost their jobs and are using the library’s computers. Councilwoman Paulette Ramsey also voiced support for the library’s resolution, saying the library is a “tremendous resource” to the borough, providing free DVDs and children’s programs. She highlighted the library’s recent effort to provide 500 Valentines to the nation’s servicemen and women. Councilman Steve Marcus, however, pointed out that it is not reasonable to maintain the funding for the library if there are reductions in other areas of the borough due to budgetary constraints. No action has yet been taken by the governing body on the request by the library board of trustees to formally oppose the action by the league and the newly introduced legislation. Contract (continued from page 3) salaries of the employees involved in the arbitration, and similar private and public employees including those in similar comparable jurisdictions, the overall compensation presently received by the employees, any stipulations put forward by both parties, the legal authority of the employer, the financial impact on the governing unit and its residents and taxpayers, the cost of living, the continuity and stability of employment including seniority rights, and the state’s current four percent property tax levy cap.