Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • November 9, 2011 freezer. The noise from home generators can be a problem, but give the choice of some huffs and puffs from the neighbors or three days without power, light, and telephone service, most people who have a home generator seem less than concerned. Generators, however, are not the solution because, besides being noisy, they pollute the atmosphere and add to global warming. Part of the solution could be solar home power units, which my son/technical advisor tells me cost about $10,000. Properly mounted on roofs with adequate sunlight, these devices can reportedly provide all the electrical power needed for illumination and for electronics when the wires aren’t down. My first immoderate suggestion is that we muster unemployed people, veterans awaiting jobs after discharge, and perhaps those inmates of the prison system who are completely non-violent, and produce these solar packs right here in the U.S.A. The products could be donated to members of selected groups, such as combatwounded veterans, senior-citizen veterans with honorable discharges or their widows, and life-long senior taxpayers who are having trouble making ends meet on Social Security. Once mass production makes the solar packs more affordable, everybody will want them. The immediate impact on home electric bills and emergency power losses will be obvious. The gradual impact on global warming could take decades, but, with other measures, we would be moving in the right direction. As an ancillary project, we should enlist those of our fellow citizens who have skills or want to learn them to manufacture thermal quilts for discount purchase or storage. No family should be without a couple per person, as the weekend proved to me and my wife. We tend to keep the heat turned down in any case, but when the heat is turned off, a couple of quilts can be a great comfort and, in extreme circumstances, a life-saver. Another measure involves a phrase I generally hate: eminent domain. I am strongly committed to private property and neighborhood values, and I would never approve condemning or severely impacting private homes because someone wants to build something nobody else wants in his or her own backyard. Eminent domain only becomes necessary when neighbors impact on other neighbors. People who enjoy walks around the towns or keep their eyes open when driving frequently spot trees or branches that are at risk of collapsing onto power lines or houses. On Oct. 29, that is exactly what happened. We need some public officials who aren’t worried about being popular to tell the property owners to take down trees or branches that pose a genuine risk to power and telephone lines or to do it themselves and send the property owners a bill. I’m absolutely opposed to “property maintenance codes” that tell people how closely they have to manicure their grass. I’m opposed to lawns in general and wish they would all be replaced by shrubs or trees where there is no line-of-sight issue. I will not lobby to have people take down macabre Halloween decorations with corpses and skeletons, which I personally find in rather poor taste, and replace them with harmless harvest symbols like scarecrows and pumpkins, which I find in rather good taste. I know I can’t legislate taste, and I’m not about to try. On the other hand, the halfrotten tree or branch that knocks out the power to a whole neighborhood for three or four days is not a personal issue; it is a civic issue. People who are older than I am, or people with younger children or invalids at home, are very much at risk from power failures. Fining people afterwards seems punitive and petty. The dangers presented by leaning, halfrotten trees or big limbs with no leaves are very obvious, but a polite reminder to protect the power and telephone lines by removing the oaken swords of Damocles would be a very good idea. Reducing global warming, and the periodic flooding of low-lying areas such as Ridgewood Village Hall, could require some serious reconfigurations of aesthetics. Big grassy expansive lawns that aren’t used for athletic fields are a mistake, and artificial turf is a huge mistake. Lopping off some rotten limbs by eminent domain and subsidizing the construction of home solar units may, in the short run, be a great big step in the right direction. We don’t need one of these three-day shiver-fests every autumn. It was, beyond hyperbole, the worst autumn storm in anyone’s memory. We all lived through it, so the details do not need a lot of repetition. What happened is that an unseasonal snowstorm struck while most of the older deciduous trees were still nearly in full leaf, and the snow coated the leaves with what one public official called “the gravitational equivalent of wet cement.” Halloween events had to be cancelled because the simulated horror of cute kids in costumes couldn’t compete with the real scary show of nature running amok. On a drive of just over a mile, I had to make several detours around fallen trees and dangling power lines. Both sides of the road bracketing our driveway were closed. Once my wife and I were back safe at home, the power -- including the ignition on the heating system – failed. For the next few days, we adapted as best we could. We spent 12 hours reading by glorious sunlight, punctuated by sparse meals we couldn’t cook because there was no electricity, and 12 hours of sleeping huddled under numerous blankets and a quilt. Actually, it wasn’t all that bad. My stomach is having some issues with food that was never meant to be eaten cold, but the reading was productive. Doing that sort of thing on a regular basis could really cut into the productive time of people who work on a rigid schedule. Don’t even ask about households where the kids don’t like to read. People I talked to – many of whom had no power for several days, or had power restored and then cut off again – wearily said they were getting used to it. I admire their toughness, but there are some things you need to get used to, and others you need to get rid of. When your neighbor has a noisy party once a year, or once a graduation, it’s time to turn over and put the pillow over your skyward ear. When they have one every couple of days, it’s time for a polite phone call. Similarly, when the same unleashed dog has bitten a half-dozen people in the same neighborhood, it’s time for the animal warden. Weather conditions are not as easy to interfere with as a noisy neighbor or a bad-tempered dog, but the golden lining is that you can usually do what has to be done without starting back-fence feuds or tedious and expensive litigation. Analyze, if you will, just what happened. A storm dropped wet snow that clutched or froze into the crowns and limbs of trees that were still in relatively full leaf. This “wet cement” subjected tree limbs that were hanging over electric and telephone lines to a stress that would not have had happened if the trees were bare of leaves, or if the stubborn and viable leaves fell off as soon as the snow and ice hit. The culprit is global warming. The warm, wet summer that has caused problems for the various water companies because people didn’t need to water their lawns very much is now causing trouble for everybody who doesn’t have a home generator. Generators are not a bad thing. My son has one. Besides keeping his own household functional, he ran power lines to two neighbors to keep one guy and his wife from freezing and another family from a meltdown in their home A catastrophe seen as a golden opportunity Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: In 2006, I ran for the Wyckoff Township Committee and received approximately 3,100 votes, unprecedented for a Democratic candidate at the time. During my campaign, I was told repeatedly that I was crazy to run for office in a firmly entrenched Republican town, but I was proud that, for the first time in 16 years, the voters of Wyckoff had a choice on Election Day. I decided to run again for township committee with Brian Scanlan in 2008. My running mate and I shared a firm belief that, when one group wields power exclusively for an extended period of time, the interests of the taxpayers are not best served. I was thrilled when Brian Scanlan was elected. Former Republican State Senator and Wyckoff Mayor Henry McNamara wrote that what he has “learned through practical experience, is that, even at the risk of logjams, the interest of taxpayers is best served when power and responsibility are shared by Democrats and Republicans…The alternative is one-party control that in the short-term offers the illusion of peace and harmony, but in the long-run often proves counterproductive or dangerous.” (“Democracy at its best when two parties share power,” The Record, 9/23/08.) I couldn’t have said it better myself and believe that this opinion is shared by many Wyckoff voters. Brian Scanlan has provided some much-needed balance on the Wyckoff Township Committee, and has continued to ask the hard questions. He clearly values community input and does a great job keeping the community informed about important township issues. What was started back in 2006 has made a difference. The community understands the need for balanced, responsive representation. The Wyckoff electorate has an opportunity to maintain this balance. Please join me in casting your ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 8 to re-elect Brian Scanlan. Brian Hubert Wyckoff Dear Editor: I am writing in support of my father, Tom Madigan, and Doug Christie for Wyckoff Township Committee. Growing up in town in a family of seven children, we all learned at an early age to share. I admire my dad for instilling in all of us the importance of volunteering and giving back. Power, responsibility must be shared Although our large family was a handful, my father and mother generously hosted four different children from overseas, coming to America for life saving open heart surgery as part of Rotary Gift of Life Program. My dad coached us in various recreation sports and we would never miss Wyckoff Team up to Tidy Up. Somehow, he convinced us that picking up trash is a privilege! He made many contributions on the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education over 12 years, and no one was more proud of the educational excellence and in handing his own children their diplomas on graduation day than my dad. As a family, we will be forever grateful for the outpouring of love and the support from friends, neighbors, and strangers when my little sister Bitsy tragically passed away. My dad and mom were a quiet example of faith and generosity in donating Bitsy’s organs to help eight others. Last summer, my sister Alicia passed away, and again we witnessed the compassion and caring from so many people -- a true testament to all our neighbors in Wyckoff. Today, my wife Marcela and I are growing our family in Wyckoff including two children with our third due soon. My sister Erin is raising her family in Wyckoff. Both Tom Madigan and Doug Christie represent what is so special in Wyckoff with their passion in giving back to the community. I urge my Wyckoff neighbors to join me in supporting Column 2, Tom Madigan and Doug Christie, on Nov. 8. Michael P. Madigan Wyckoff Dear Editor: A recent letter to papers about a successful tax appeal by Canterbury Development Corporation, the owners of the 27-acre Maple Lake property, was missing some key facts. This property was never permanently declared unsuitable for development. The reason the dam was breached and the lake drained was to increase the amount of developable land so more housing could be built there. Canterbury’s strategy is to allow nature to reclaim the lakebed, reduce the wetlands, and increase the size of the developable portion of the property. That process is occurring now. Canterbury’s appeal of its valuation is one of hundreds (continued on page 19) Supports open space fund Exemplifies tradition of giving back