February 3, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 31 Park Windmill Umpires sought Midland Park Recreation is seeking umpires for the upcoming season. Candidates must be in eighth grade or older. Contact Pete Damsma (201) 444-2218 or at pwd42@verizon.net for details. Friends plan Book Sale The Friends of the Midland Park Memorial Library will hold a Book Sale on Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27 in the library’s Community Room. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. Donations of gently used books (fiction and nonfiction, hard and soft cover), CDs, DVDs, Books on CD and videotapes are now being accepted. Please note: The Friends cannot accept magazines, encyclopedias, textbooks, vinyl records, cassette tapes, or Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. The group also cannot accept books that are more than five years old in the following categories: business and finance, computers, travel, health, child care, and education. Donations may be dropped off from Feb. 8 through 20 during library hours. All items will be priced to sell and all proceeds will benefit the library. Nativity hosts Masses for differently-abled Catholic Masses for differently-abled individuals will be held at Church of the Nativity in Midland Park on the following dates: Sundays at 9 a.m.; Feb. 7, March 7, and April 18, and GREAT Communion, May 9 and June 13. Receptions follow Mass. These Masses are specifically for families with members who are differently-abled. Many people who are challenged behaviorally, mentally, or physically may have difficulty in traditional Sunday Mass environments, so the families are unable to worship together and may avoid Mass altogether. These are the families we are welcoming to attend these Masses and celebrate the Eucharist with other members of the surround- ing community. For more information, contact Director of Lay Ministries Janet Nemec at (201) 444-6362, (201) 670-1871, or janetlynnnemec@yahoo.com. Baseball association to meet The Midland Park Baseball Association will meet Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Highland School Media Center. Coaches and parents are welcome. For more information, e-mail midlandparkbaseball@gmail.com. Softball association sets meeting The Midland Park Girls’ Softball Association will meet Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Englishman Room of the Midland Park Library. All are welcome to attend. Boosters plan ‘Pack the House’ nights MPHS Athletic Booster Association has scheduled its Winter Sports “Pack the House” nights. The next opportunities for “Pack the House” nights will be Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. for the Boys’ Varsity Basketball vs. Eastern Christian game, and Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. for the Girls’ Varsity Basketball vs. Immaculate Conception game. The theme for these evenings is “green out.” All fans are urged to wear their green in support of Panther Pride. This year’s giveaway is a special commemorative Tshirt for the first 25 paid student admissions at any of the three events. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Foundation seeks used jeans The Midland Park Public Education Foundation’s 2010 Spring Fling Blue Jean Ball will be held on Saturday, March 13 from 7 to11 p.m. at Saint Nicholas Church in Wyckoff. In preparation for this event, the Blue Jean Ball Decorating Committee is seeking upwards of 300 to 400 gentlyused blue jeans in all shapes and sizes. After the event, the MPPEF will donate these jeans to a charity. Jean donations may be dropped off in the boxes located on the front porches at 4 Westview Place, 148 East Center Street, 252 Vreeland Avenue, and 264 Park Avenue, through Feb. 26. All the proceeds from the 2010 Spring Fling Blue Jean Ball will go toward funding the “Access to All” grant. The cost of Phase I of this grant is approximately $70,000 and will enable Midland Park schools to purchase the technological equipment necessary to bring the schools on par with others in the area. Anyone who would like to join the Blue Jean Ball Decorating Committee is invited to contact MPPEF Board of Trustee members Kristin Fiore at fiorefam4@verizon.net, or Christine Odell at ccodell@optonline.net. For tickets, contact Tiffany Gallagher at igallag@optonline.net, Melissa Stanton at stanton264@msn.com, or visit www. mppef.org. The Midland Park Public Education Foundation is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit foundation that funds new curriculum initiatives and enrichment opportunities in Midland Park’s public schools. Board of education to meet The Midland Park Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. The meeting will be held in the August C. DePreker Media Center, Highland Elementary School. Transitions group welcomes seniors Transitions, a discussion group for senior citizens, meets at the Northwest Bergen Senior Center at 46-50 Center Street in Midland Park Mondays at 12:30 p.m. Being a senior brings changes, some of which are normal and others that are agerelated. Transitions offers a place for contemporaries who understand these changes to converse and to share solutions. Anne Wennhold facilitates this lively 90-minute weekly discussion. There is no fee, but registration is required. Call (201) 445-5690. Aspiring chefs sought Back by popular demand, Chef Sam will teach children in basic safety rules when cooking, and how to make fun snacks, healthy treats, and a meal for the whole family. Classes for the aspiring chefs will be held at the DePhillips Center on Dairy Street every Saturday from Feb. 13 through March 13. There are still a few openings for the Kids Cuisine class for third and fourth graders which meets from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.; and the Teen Cuisine class for fifth through eighth graders, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The registration fee is $35, and the material fee is $15. Visit www.mpnj.com for registration forms. Class sizes are limited. Soccer association to meet The Midland Park Soccer Association will hold a general meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Midland Park Library. All parents are welcome to attend. Public invited to heart health program Patricia Delaney, R.N., A.A.S., director of cardiac outreach services at the Center for Women’s Heart Health at Valley Hospital, will present a program entitled “A Woman’s Heart” at the next meeting of the Midland Park Branch of the Valley Hospital Auxiliary on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. at Faith Reformed Church, 95 Prospect Street, Midland Park. Delaney’s presentation will include facts about women and heart disease. She will also provide information about the free heart health assessment available to every woman at Valley Hospital. The auxiliary invites all members of the community to attend this free event. Hearthealthy refreshments will be served. Call (201) 652-0873 or (201) 444-8614 for further information. 30 minutes of your time can save a life. It’s About Life! Your can make a difference in someone’s life by spending just 30 minutes donating blood. Call us today. Tax assessments (continued from page 5) of that house. Smith said he explained that situation in a letter in 2006. He also explained that the borough is now following the state statute which requires each property owner to be charged for the cost of the improvement based on the increased value the improvement brought to each property. Peter Sacco, a Mountain Avenue resident, complained that he and his neighbors were told years ago that, if they had properties with frontage on Mountain Avenue while the rear of their properties faced Wildwood Avenue, they would not have to pay for this improvement. But Hart pointed to a 2003 letter that advised the residents that any and all properties backing or fronting on Wildwood Avenue would be included in the assessment. Sacco also pointed out that David Catuogno, another resident of the area who could not attend the meeting, has threatened to go to court over his assessment and he had asked for the meeting to be postponed so he could address the council. Rick Meier, a former resident of the Wildwood Avenue area, told how he had to place $4,000 into escrow for this project when he sold his property. He said the money has been tied up for three years, which he described as “insane.” Mountain Avenue resident Colleen Hurst told the council the road improvement provided no advantage to her at all. After the public discussion was closed, Smith suggested the council could consider lowering the total amount being assessed in light of the confusion over what the property owners were told they would have to pay. He suggested the total cost could be lowered by $12,000 to $15,000 by reducing the $32,000 that was in escrow by the $8,323 assessment required for the developer’s property and splitting the difference with the property owners. The council seemed to favor that suggestion, but Councilman Frank Bivona made a motion to continue the discussion at the Feb. 2 meeting so Hart could further review the borough’s file on the matter and to give any property owner who could not attend last week’s meeting a chance to speak to the council. All the council members present at the meeting agreed. 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