Ridgewood May 18, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 5 Council heeds neighbors: Lights will be off at 9 by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council heeded the urgent requests of residents of the village’s sports fields and rejected a request from extracurricular sports groups to leave sports field lights on until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The council’s vote will maintain the lighting schedule now in effect, which calls for all sports field lights to be shut off at 9 p.m. every night of the week. Residents who attended last week’s meeting echoed the sentiments of neighbors who had spoken at several previous meetings. The sports lights, they said, interfere with their quality of life and are a detriment to property values. “These lights are blinding us at night,” said Paul Woodburn, whose house is near the field. “They are on until nine o’clock at night. They have never angled them down…I am appalled at what is going on in this town.” He said that three transformers had been placed on the public utility pole located near his property, and said that, in some cases, three batteries of field lights have been left on so three or four youngsters could play ball until 9 p.m. when a few lights on one pole would have been adequate for the players and kinder to the neighborhood. Woodburn offered the Ridgewood Village Council a plastic bay containing 11 lacrosse balls that he said had landed on his lawn and could cause damage to his lawnmower. He also offered some specimens of evidence of adolescent drug abuse along Ho-Ho-Kus Brook. At previous meetings, residents have presented the council with bags filled with softballs and other sports balls that had hit their houses or landed in their yards. The citizens asked for proper backstops as well as a limit on the sports field lights. Beset by partisans of both extended and limited sports field lighting, the council had taken a sports lighting survey the week before the vote. The council’s decision was accepted with thanks from the sports field neighbors and no attempt from recreation groups to dissuade the governing body. Ron Verdicchio, though not an immediate neighbor of the fields, supported the existing schedule both on behalf of the neighbors and on behalf of the students who plays sports in Ridgewood -- not all of whom are residents. “I support the 9 p.m. light turn-off,” Verdicchio said. “Keeping children out on school nights is the wrong message. I think nine o’clock is the right thing to do.” Summer camp holds Open House YWCA Bergen County’s Camp MaKee-Ya is hosting an on-site Open House on Sunday, May 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 261 Arden Valley Road in Bear Mountain, New York. Camp staff will be on hand to conduct tours and answer questions. Camp Ma-Kee-Ya is a day/residence camp for individuals who are eight to 13 years of age. The camp features affordable one-week sessions, rustic facilities, and a beautiful stream-fed lake. New activities this summer include the SEAS Sailing Program, and a two-week American Red Cross certification program that runs Aug. 1 through 5 and Aug. 8 through 12. The YWCA runs four summer camps, all of which offer American Red Cross Swim lessons, sports, arts and crafts, and nature activities. Counselor in Training programs for boys and girls ages 13 to 16 are also available. For more information, call (201) 881-1728 or visit www.ywcabergencounty.org. ���������������������������� ������������������� ���� ������������ ������� �������������� ����������������� ����������� �������� ����������������������������������� �������������� Family Hair Care Eli’s Bagel ���������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������� Trattoria ���������������������� ������������������������ �������������� ������������������������������������� ������������������������� �������������������� ���������������������� ������������������������ ������ ������� ������� ������������ ������������������ ������������������������������������� ������������������������� ���� presents... Presents ������������������������������������� ������������������������� ���������������� 3RD ANNUAL SPRING GALA PERFORMANCE Saturday, June 4th, 1:00 PM & 7:00 PM At Berrie Center for the Arts, Ramapo College. ���������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������