June 2, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 21 Saddle River Valley Notes Annual Strawberry Festival set The 53 annual Strawberry Festival hosted by Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church, 318 West Saddle River Road, Upper Saddle River, will be held Saturday, June 12. From 1 to 7 p.m. participants will be able to enjoy delicious local strawberries, homemade cakes, and local ice cream. Other features of the festival will be hamburgers and hotdogs, events for children, vendor booths, a special auction, and entertainment by local groups. All desserts are made to order with slices of homebaked pound cake, freshly-picked New Jersey strawberries, and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream. This family-oriented event is one of the church’s largest fundraisers each year. All proceeds are used for the work and missions of the church. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (201) 327-3960. rd Letters to the Editor (continued from page 22) On May 6, a letter from Mr. Kratz was sent to the Waldwick residents advising them that “the response (from the Internet survey) was sufficiently positive for the mayor and council to potentially restore both programs (rec. and tennis) for this year on a fee basis to cover our costs,” as long as there were 200 registrants who would pre-register by June 1. In the May 26 Villadom Times article, Mr. Kratz states that he had only received responses from 11 families for the rec. program. What I believe Mr. Kratz fails to understand is that many families could not wait around until June 1 to make plans for the summer and that many families had already signed their children up for the music/arts program at Traphagen School (which was eliminated as a site for the rec. program for some reason this year). It would be a great inconvenience for many to drive back and forth from HCA or Borough Park to Traphagen. I also don’t understand why there was a stipulation as to the number of participants this year (when there wasn’t in the past), especially when this year the parents were actually paying for the program out of pocket. I understand the council had to make changes in response to the state budget cuts. What I don’t understand is why they continue to raise taxes and then cut low-cost programs that make this town special. I would hope that as the mayor and council continue to balance the budget and begin to negotiate public employee contracts that they remind everyone that we all need to “share the sacrifice.” Kathy Lawler Waldwick School board to meet The Upper Saddle River Board of Education will meet on Monday, June 7 at 8 p.m. in the media center of the Cavallini Middle School, 392 West Saddle River for a public hearing on the school business administrator’s contract. Companion Animal Advocates to host fundraiser Companion Animal Advocates and American Gold & Diamond Buyers invite the public to sell old, broken, or unwanted gold, silver, or platinum jewelry pieces on Thursday, June 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Westy’s Self Storage, 200 Route 17 North in Upper Saddle River. Ten percent of the total merchandise purchased will benefit Companion Animal Advocates. American Gold & Diamond Buyers will buy gold (any karat), sterling silver jewelry, flatware, table service, fine watches, diamonds, and estate-type jewelry. Security and light refreshments will be available. Contact Christine McIndoe at Christine@CompanionAnimalAdvocates. org or at (201) 706-7666 with any questions. Companion Animal Advocates, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Bergen County, is dedicated to the welfare of companion animals within the community through programs designed to keep pets in their homes and reduce pet overpopulation. For more information, visit www.CompanionAnimalAdvocates.org. Singles plan events Singles from The Church of the Presentation, 271 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River, have planned a June 6 hike at Harriman and lunch at the Mason Jar. Call (201) 327-1313. Motorcycle charity run & blessing set Cycle-Paths of NJ, Inc. Motorcycle Club and Zion Lutheran Church at 96 East Allendale Road, Saddle River, will host the Children’s Quality of Life Ride Charity Bike Blessing and Motorcycle Run on Sunday, June 6. Participants may sign in from 9 to 11 a.m. The blessing will begin at 11:30 a.m. The run, which is police escorted, will leave at noon from Zion Lutheran Church, 96 East Allendale Avenue, and return to this location. The cost to ride is $20; $10 for passengers and walkins. There will be prizes, coffee, and doughnuts prior to the run. For more information, contact Sam at (973) 8687108 or www.cycle-paths.org Beatles cover band to perform Zion Lutheran Church, located at 96 East Allendale Road in Saddle River, will present the Mystical Majesty Band on Sunday, June 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. The doors to Fellowship Hall will be open for outdoor seating. Attendees can bring lawn chairs. Admission to the concert is free. Food and refreshments will be available with all proceeds to benefit Zion Lutheran Church and “Hopes and Dreams,” a Down syndrome charity. For more information, call (201) 3270655. Ho-Ho-Kus budget introduced (continued from page 5) personnel. He said cuts were made to get back to last year’s budget figure. Losses in revenue include $60,000 from interest on investments, $12,000 in municipal court fees, $28,000 in parking receipts, $21,000 in uniform construction code fees, and $90,000 in state aid. According to the appendix to the budget statement, the surplus balance as of Dec. 31, 2009 was $937,752, down from $1,281,866 on Jan. 1, 2009. The current surplus anticipated in the 2010 budget is $466,100, leaving a balance of $471,652. During last week’s budget introduction, the council also approved a cap ordinance that would allow for an increase in spending up to 3.5 percent over 2009, as provided by the local government cap law. After the meeting, Councilman Hamm explained that the borough is not currently availing itself of the 3.5 percent increase, but has approved the ordinance as a contingency plan to allow the borough to do increase spending in an emergency. The council also voted to approve the water utility budget of $694,900 and the solid waste utility budget of $934,000. All the council members were present at the session, and the three budgets and the cap ordinance were voted unanimously. Councilman Lee Flemming, who has abstained from voting on the budgets, or voted no, since he has joined the council, told Villadom TIMES he finds the trend of rate increases too high. He said he intends to vote “no” on the final passage. The public hearing on the budget has been scheduled for the June 22 public council meeting, which will be held at borough hall at 8 p.m. Engaged? Just Married? Celebrating an Anniversary? Share the news with neighbors and friends! Announce your Special Event in We welcome photographs. Send announcements to: The Villadom TIMES P.O. Box 96, Midland Park, NJ 07432 editorial@villadom.com