Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • May 18, 2011 Glen Rock Borough receives word of Onomachi visit in July by John Koster Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren and Planning Board Secretary Nancy Spiller have received word that the middle school students from Onomachi, Japan, will be making the regular summer visit to Glen Rock despite the collateral impact of the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation to their town. The tour, now in its 19th year, was originated by Kristen Stewart, a Glen Rock High School graduate who taught English in Onomachi for a number of years, and was urged to find ways to foster understanding, friendship, and peace between the peoples of Japan and the United States. At this point, several hundred Onomachi youngsters have visited Glen Rock at their own and their township’s expense, and dozens on Glen Rock hosts have visited Onomachi. Onomachi is just outside the radiation zone and was not seriously impacted by the March earthquake. The people of Onomachi, a town in northern Honshu, in many cases opened their doors to evacuated residents of the area closer to Fukushima, offering them food and shelter for whatever time might be necessary. Glen Rock Council officials and residents sent Onomachi a sort of video “greeting card” with statements of love and support just after the earthquake and tsunami. The Onomachi council and administration were delighted, but told Glen Rock residents not to send money or supplies to Onomachi because the town had not been hard hit. Instead, the Onomachi people said Americans who wished to help might donate to the victims, or make “care packages” of toiletries and household needs so the evacuees living in Onomachi could sustain themselves in public shelters or the homes of host families until their own homes are decontaminated and repaired, or other arrangements are made. Last week, Spiller received notification that the Onomachi tour by students and chaperones will arrive on July 27 and visitors will meet host families and Glen Rock officials at the Glen Rock Annex on Maple Avenue on the flank of the municipal complex. Following pizza, sandwiches, chips, and soft drinks, the students and chaperones will go home with their Glen Rock host families. On Thursday, July 28, a full-day tour of Glen Rock will begin around 9:20 a.m. Students will tour the Glen Rock Public Library, the ambulance corps building, the fire department, and the police station, and then have lunch at Glen Rock Borough Hall and a discussion with Mayor van Keuren. The shuttle bus will take the students to Glen Rock High School, where the Onomachi students will explore the facility, and the afternoon will be spent at the Glen Rock Municipal Pool. The next day, the visitors will tour the United Nations, and will shop at the United Nations and at Times Square. They will then take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, return to Battery Park, and then come back to Glen Rock. The students will spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday with their host families -- this sometimes includes day trips to favorite family locations -- and end the weekend with arts and crafts exchanges and a cook-out at the Glen Rock Pool Pavilion. This fond farewell features lessons from the students to their hosts in origami, group photos, and a sentimental good-bye to the borough many Onomachi youngsters see as almost a second home. The tour will end with four days at Camp Hilltop in Hamilton, New York, followed by a return to Japan. The Glen Rock Borough Council has approved an easement that will allow all three parties involved to use a driveway that serves properties located just off Doremus Avenue, and will soon serve a 20-unit condominium complex. Glen Rock will assume the cost of maintenance of the common driveway area, and the owner of the property being used for the condominiums will waive any contri- Council approves driveway easement bution or payment by the borough for municipal services otherwise stipulated by state law. Borough officials explained that this simply means all involved parties now have the legal right to use the driveway. The vote took place at the May 11 meeting of the Glen Rock Borough Council. J. KOSTER Members of the Glen Rock Garden Club held its Mother’s Day Plant Sale at the Main Line Railroad Station near Rock Road. Shown here are early-bird members Kathy Ward, Barbara Sellitti, Donald Levine, Maria Koenecke, Pam Nardella, and Gail Bass. The club sold flowers, plants, and young trees raised in their own gardens to residents who want to help beautify their properties. The Glen Rock Garden Club meets on the third Tuesday of each month at the Glen Rock Annex near Borough Hall at 7:45 p.m. Residents of Glen Rock and other communities are welcome to drop in at the meetings, which feature lectures by professionals and crafts people and refreshments. New members are eagerly sought. Sale is success Market Your Business Through The Villadom TIMES TIMES! ● Newspaper ● Internet ● Fliers & Inserts The Villadom TIMES is 100% mailed to 12 north west Bergen County towns with a total circulation of 56,300, and now you get the exposure of thousands of additional readers online! ADVERTISE 201-652-0744 Independently Owned & Operated for Over 20 Years YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSPAPER www.villadom.com