Mahwah December 9, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Resident wins international photography award “As I came face-to-face with this magnificent creature, I could see that he understood that I meant no harm. Hopefully, through continued education and awareness, his trust in man will not have been misplaced,” Reiter said. The United Nations declared 2009 as “The Year of the Gorilla” in an effort to bring worldwide attention to the critically endangered status of the gorilla and the need for conservation measures. “Lion and Burchell’s Zebra,” photographed at Masai Mara, Kenya, was the winner in the wildlife category. As top winner in the competition, Reiter’s images will be featured in the fall edition of Nature’s Best Photography Magazine. In addition, his images will be on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for six months in a major exhibit of the winning photographs. His images will also be on a number of major Internet websites with an estimated audience of over 10 million viewers. “It is one of the greatest thrills of my life to have been selected as this year’s Grand Prize Winner and Wildlife (continued on page 10) John Reiter with his grand prize-winning photograph. DeBoer Brothers Landscaping CHRISTMAS TREE PURCHASE WITH THIS AD (Expires 12/22/09) Mahwah resident John Reiter is the grand prize winner and the wildlife category winner of the 2009 Windland Smith Rice International Awards sponsored by Nature’s Best Photography Magazine and the Smithsonian. Reiter’s winning wildlife images were taken on African safaris. The grand prize-winning image, “Mountain Gorilla,” was taken in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. The moun- tain gorilla, which is facing extinction, lives only in central Africa. Only some 700 remain. One of the biggest threats to their existence continues to be man’s encroachment into the gorillas’ habitat. With man’s continued destruction of the rainforest, gorillas must move to higher elevations in search of food. This colder climate increases their mortality rate due to illness. $5.00 OFF (Located behind Oakland Drug Store) 15 Terhune Street, Oakland, NJ 201-337-8244 12-2-09 joan/janine DeBoerLandscapingColor2x3(12-2-09) 2x3”