August 12, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 23 Glen Rock Roundup Senior Advisory Committee to meet The Senior Citizen Advisory Committee of Glen Rock will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 1:30 p.m. at the municipal quarters located behind CVS Pharmacy at 175 Rock Road. The meeting will be chaired by Doris Ciaramella. All are invited to attend. For information concerning senior citizen issues and programs, call Paula Fleming at (201) 670-3956. Register for preschool programs The Glen Rock Community School is holding open registration for members of all communities for its Mom & Tot and Terrific for Tots preschool programs for the 2009-2010 school year. Classes will begin the week of Sept. 14. Registration can be made Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the community school, 600 Harristown Road, Glen Rock, in the lobby of the Glen Rock High School. The child’s birth certificate or passport must be presented at the time of registration. Preschool classes include Mom & Tot I for young toddlers age 18 months and Mom & Tot II for toddlers age 24 months. The Mom & Tot program is designed to encourage speech, motor, social and emotional skills through play and group interaction. Each class begins with a free-play period. During the latter portion of the class, parents and children have separate, planned activities within the same room. The Terrific for Tots program includes Tots I for age 30 months, Tots II for three-year-olds and Tots III for fouryear-olds. Terrific for Tots offers a warm and nurturing environment for the child’s early school experiences. Children have the opportunity to explore arts and crafts, music, educational games, perceptual motor activities and listening activities, while interacting with other children of the same age. All ages are as of Oct. 1, 2009. For additional information or to register, contact the Glen Rock Community School office at (201) 389-5011 or visit www.grcsonline. com. University announces Dean’s List The University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware has named the following Glen Rock students to its Dean’s List for the spring 2009 semester: Ryan Alexander Berland, a junior with majors in accounting and finance in the College of Business and Economics; Meredith Frances Frizzell, a freshman university studies major in the College of University Studies; Kyle Jenkins McDonough, a junior communication major in the College of Arts and Sciences; Christina Lee Patoir, a senior marketing major in the College of Business and Economics; Alexandra Ida Roberts, a freshman political science education major in the College of Arts and Sciences; Erin Wessely, a junior elementary teacher education major in the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy; and Jessica Rose Zanotti, a freshman political science major in the College of Arts and Sciences. To be placed on the Dean’s List a student must have a grade point average of 3.33 or above for the semester. Barbecue, Erev Shabbat set The Glen Rock Jewish Center will host its Eighth Annual Barbecue and Erev Shabbat service on Friday, Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. with services at 8 p.m. The event will be held at 739 Harristown Road. Meet Rabbi Neil Tow and other members of the congregation. There will be burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, and all the fixings. Contact office@grjc.org or (201) 652-6624. An outdoor Shabbat service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15 at, 9 a.m. The entire community is welcome. The next monthly meeting of Movin’ On will be held on Thursday, Aug. 13 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The guest speaker this month will be certified massage therapist, Erica Mueller, who will discuss wellness. GRJC welcomes all members of the larger community to join in on an exciting trip to Israel in February 2010. Featured will be archaeology, wine tasting, mystical Tzfat and Shabbat in Jerusalem. The proposed itinerary can be found at the GRJC website, www.grjc.org, and the itinerary is still in its planning stages and input and questions are welcome from anyone considering the trip. By traveling at an off-peak season, just prior to Presidents’ Week, we have kept the cost of the trip very low. For more information, call or e-mail Rabbi Neil Tow at (201) 421-9811 or rabbi@grjc. org. Book group to discuss Tropper novel The Glen Rock Library’s The Tea and Book Talk at Two meets the third Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. The next meeting will be Aug. 18. “How to Talk to a Widower” by Jonathan Tropper will be the book for discussion. This novel is both heartfelt and riotously funny. The Glen Rock Public Library is located at 315 Rock Road. For more information, call (201) 670-3970. Letters to the Editor (continued from age 23) in the area. One December evening, we drove down Ridgewood Avenue; at the end was a beautiful lighted Christmas tree right in the middle of everything. We thought that was amazing and we immediately fell in love with the village and its traditions. Flash back to last year when the Christmas tree was relocated. Where did it go? It’s like moving the Christmas tree from Rockefeller Plaza and placing it in Central Park! Although the intention to go green was good, it took away the pride and tradition of coming together at the end of Ridgewood Avenue to celebrate our own Rockefeller experience. Their were many letters and calls last year stating how saddened people were about the moving of our Christmas tree, but what sadden me the most is the disregard for our religious right to celebrate Christmas in our traditional way. It is offensive to Christians when our Christmas tree is to often being referred to as a “holiday tree.” I don’t think people of the Jewish faith would like it if the Hanukkah menorah was called the holiday candlestick? We are also offended when the Chamber president wishes everyone happy holidays and not Merry Christmas. I find it very disrespectful for the families who celebrate this religious holiday and come out every year for the lighting and not wish them a Merry Christmas. Public officials think its O.K. to homogenize the holiday by joining the multiple religious celebrations as a way of honoring all, but it only degrades our culture and right to the biggest religious celebration in the world by minimizing and dishonoring it. For many years, the majority have been silent, but no more. Over 90 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas with a Christmas tree and this is a tradition that should not be demeaned any longer. Let’s speak up about our holiday and make it politically correct to stop offending the people who celebrate this beautiful tradition. So I ask Ridgewood families to speak up again and request our tree be restored and let’s make Christmas a celebration to be proud of and remember every year. Like you said in an article on June 5, Pat Mancuso, “Our philosophy has always been to listen to the neighbors in the neighborhood.” Trish Manzo Ridgewood 30 minutes of your time can save a life. Each year more than four million people ~ accident victims, patients undergoing surgery, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases ~ are in need of a blood transfusion. Community Blood Services 970 Linwood Avenue, West Paramus, NJ 07652 It’s About Life! Your can make a difference in someone’s life by spending just 30 minutes donating blood. Call us today. Check our website: www.CommunityBloodServices.org 201-444-3900