The Villadom Times Weekly Newspaper Online-Sept 8, 2010 Issue

September 8, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 9 �� On Sept. 13, a resale store known as “ditto” will open its doors at 965 Belmont Avenue in North Haledon. Far from being just any retail operation, ditto operates as a benefit for the Eastern Christian School. The store outgrew its previous location in Hawthorne, �� and the board of the Foundation for Eastern Christian School was ready to relocate to a larger, more accessible �� location where the inventory on sale could be expanded to �� include furniture, appliances, sporting goods, books, and household items in addition to gently used, clean clothing. After months of planning and searching, the board found the new 11,000 square foot location. The property was �� completely renovated over the summer by Visbeen Construction Co. and converted into a state-of-the-art retail store. To manage the day to day operations of ditto, the board hired Eric Hawn, a former EC parent and Wyckoff resident Resale store to beneﬁt Eastern Christian School who is active in several local ministries. Hawn’s strong background in retail operations will be a significant benefit for this operation. The remainder of the staff will all be volunteers. According to Garret Nieuwenhuis, executive director of the Foundation for Eastern Christian School, it is expected that some of the ditto volunteers will again be residents of the Holland Christian Home in North Haledon. “We always appreciated their faithful service for the benefit of Eastern Christian,” said Nieuwenhuis, “and we look forward to their continuing service at this new facility.” Additional volunteers are being solicited from the families associated with Eastern Christian and from the surrounding communities. Ditto is currently accepting donations of goods for resale. All donated items must be in good working condition, clothes must be clean and gently used. Glen Rock Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Verducci has invited Governor Chris Christie to tour the soonto-be-opened facilities at Glen Rock High School, and offered to advise the governor so New Jersey won’t miss out on “Race to the Top” funding next year. Dr. Verducci said that if the governor had asked educational professionals for their advice on how to prepare the application for the federal funding, New Jersey might have received money to help run the public schools. “Despite my repeated requests since your inaugural for you to sit down with school leaders and allow us the opportunity to help you in an effort to curb runaway education costs and, in turn, bring down property taxes, you chose to either ridicule or ignore us,” Dr. Verducci said in a sixpage letter to the governor. “You have chosen to scapegoat superintendents across the state...your vendetta against the New Jersey Education Association and school administrators across the state is doing nothing to help the children of New Jersey,” the superintendent added. Dr. Verducci objected to the governor’s frequent mention Verducci invites governor for tour “We want the store to have a reputation for only selling upscale items, and we want to preserve that reputation as best we can,” said Hawn. The store will only accept donations and will not accept items on a consignment basis. Hawn mentioned that the first donation to ditto was a 1999 Ford Pickup truck in excellent condition, which will be very handy in assisting with donation pickups if necessary. Members of the board of the Foundation for Eastern Christian School traveled to visit other similar resale stores in the Midwest and learned a great deal about successful resale store operation. The name ditto for this resale store is similar to the name of a resale store in Holland, Michigan, and is being used in North Jersey with their permission. The store will operate Monday through Friday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The store will be closed on Sundays and major holidays. Contact ditto at (973) 427-4886 (973-42ditto) or visit online at www.dittoNJ.com. of the salaries of New Jersey’s superintendents of schools and other top officials, often cited as one of the reasons for the high property taxes in New Jersey communities. Rather than castigate administrators, Dr. Verducci said, the governor should interact with them to explore ways to reduce the cost of education without a negative impact on the quality of education. Dr. Verducci said that, if the governor explored the facilities and met the staffers of Glen Rock and other effective Bergen County schools, he would learn some things that could better prepare him for next year’s round of federal applications. “I sincerely hope you will consider finding time in your busy schedule to visit some of Bergen County’s great schools,” Verducci told Governor Christie in conclusion. “Your presence has the potential to do a tremendous amount of good for both children and taxpayers. Confrontation breeds enmity. Cooperation builds bridges. We hope you will soon begin to see it in this way as well.” J. KOSTER First Step Preschool, Inc. 454 Pulis Avenue • Franklin Lakes We are now enrolling for September 2010 �� Ages 2½ - 6 Years PM K-Enrichment Class 201-847-8198 Please visit our website: ﬁrststeppreschoolnj.com REGISTER NOW FOR 2010-2011 SEMESTER �� 8-11-10 Pat from Janine FirstStepPreschool2x3(18-11-10) 2 col x 3” ��