Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • November 3, 2010 Ridgewood Council asked to close Saddle River bike path by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council will probably hold a vote to indicate final closure of a Bergen County proposal for a bridge and an extension of the Saddle River bike path that has been opposed by residents in Ridgewood and neighboring Paramus. Linda Reik, one of the residents who objected to a 100foot easement to allow Bergen County to put a 113-foot pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Saddle River, had joined a group that spoke at the Bergen County Freeholders meeting in April after Ridgewood granted the easement. The freeholders listened to the neighbors’ arguments that the existing path is adequate and that a further extension would jeopardize wildlife and interfere with the neighbors’ enjoyment of their own properties. The freeholders subsequently dropped the proposal for the bridge. Last week, Reik asked the council that the easement granted for the bridge also be rescinded. Council members said they expected to take up this matter at the Nov. 10 public meeting. Author fundraiser caps Y’s 90th Anniversary celebration YWCA Bergen County will host Rebecca Skloot (pictured), best-selling author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” in her exclusive area appearance on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe, in Teaneck. The evening will include a “Meet the Speaker” reception sponsored by PNC Bank from 6 to 7 p.m. and book signing from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Bookends in Ridgewood will donate 20 percent of the sales for each Rebecca Skloot book purchased in-store or at the event. This fall fundraiser caps off the YWCA’s year-long 90th Anniversary celebration. Proceeds will benefit YWCA scholarships for after school care and summer camps, special needs recreation programs, and the county’s only 24/7 Rape Crisis Hotline. Sponsors include PNC Bank, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Capital One Bank, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. Bergen/Passaic Chapter, Hackensack University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney - Evan Steinberg, Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe, and The Valley Hospital. Tickets are $50 for General Admission and $150 for the “Meet the Speaker” reception and ticket. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ywcaskloot.eventbrite.com. For details and sponsorship information, visit the events page at www.ywcabergencounty.org or call Jeanne Patrican at (201) 881-1720. Skloot is an award-winning science writer whose articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; Discover; Columbia Journalism Review; and elsewhere. She is a contributing editor for Popular Science magazine and has also been a correspondent for NPR and PBS. A former vice president of the National Book Critics Circle, she is on the faculty at the University of Memphis. Amazon named “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” “Best of 2010...So Far” and National Public Radio listed it “One of the Top Five Best of the Best-sellers.” Author to appear Field lights (continued from page 3) disrupting the quality of life for neighbors. However, council members reminded residents that the board of education and the village council are two separate and autonomous entities. The neighbors contended that the board had been wrong in its handling of the lights and their funding. Among other things, Kossoff asserted, the money donated by the sports groups had helped out with the first installment of about $100,000 for the field lights, but that there was no guarantee the sports groups would continue to donate money, leaving the council and the taxpayers stuck with the remainder of what Kossoff estimated at a $420,000 total bill. “The schools are funded through our real estate taxes,” said resident Steven Roth. “Therefore it should be under your jurisdiction to make sure that they play by the rules. The mission is education -- not sports. It’s time to get this mission straight.”