Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES II & IV • November 9, 2011 The noise problem with the outdoor basketball backboards at the Dairy Street recreation field in Midland Park has been solved, to the relief of the neighbors and the mayor and council. “There is really a big difference with the sound deadening,” said Councilman Scott Pruiksma, the recreation liaison, at a recent meeting of the mayor and council. Borough Administrator Addie Hanna said that one of the backboards had initially been left undone so as to compare the results. “It was loud and shaking; now you hear nothing. We won’t even need any additional bracing,” she said. The solution was devised by DPW Foreman Rudy Gnehm: secure insulation to the back of each board. Previous efforts recommended by the manufacturer to deaden the sound included tightening the bolts on each board. “We knew that wasn’t going to cut it,” said James Trommelen of Woodside Avenue. He told the council he had been complaining about the problem since the boards were installed. “It was largely ignored until three weeks ago.” “It was a progression,” said Mayor Joseph Monahan. “We hope this is it.” “Once we recognized the problem, we moved to solve it,” said Councilman Bernie Holst, the DPW liaison. The council also installed screening between the courts and some neighbors’ properties, and raised the height of the fence to the originally-proposed height of 12 feet, Hanna said. The two outdoor courts, which were funded with a Insulation abates backboard noise at outdoor courts grant of $92,000 from the Bergen County Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund and matching funds from the borough, replaced older courts that were in total disrepair. The construction of the new courts addressed drainage issues, but the courts were shifted back closer to the neighbors’ fences to accommodate parking for six cars and a handicapped space. The new fencing is set back 3-ft from the property line of the Woodside Avenue homes, but no additional buffer was provided. There is a 12-ft. side yard setback. Patricia Lazzara and Barbara Allen will perform a recital, Heavenly Delights for Flute and Harp, on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. at the Midland Park Christian Reformed Church, 183 Godwin Avenue. The recital will include work by Saint-Saens, Inglebrecht, CPE Bach, Piazzolla, and Faure. Lazzara is a three-time winner of the Artists International competition in New York City. She has performed as soloist for the National Flute Association Professional Flute Choir and is a Miyazawa Flute Artist. She is the 2007 winner of the Florida Flute Association Performers Grant for Advanced Study. She is a founding member of UpTown Flutes, an innovative flute ensemble in residence at Drew University in Madison. The executive director of Music for Life, a musical instruction program in private and parochial schools, Lazzara and Allen perform at recital Lazzara is on the faculty of Rockland Conservatory of Music and Ackerman’s Music Center. Allen, second-prize winner in the Seventh International Harp Competition held in Israel, has appeared as soloist with the Caramoor and Waterloo festivals, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Greenwich Symphony, and Hudson Valley Philharmonic. She is a member of Parnassus, the Perspectives Ensemble, and L’Opera Francais and has appeared with Tashi, Orpheus, Saint Luke’s Chamber Ensemble and the New World String Quartet. She is currently principal harpist with the American Ballet Theater orchestra, and the Greenwich Symphony. There will be a suggested donation at the door of $15. For more information, call (201) 445-4260. The American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 130, will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Veterans Hall on Faner Road in Midland Park. The organization invites Auxiliary welcomes new members new members to attend. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Donna Hoffmann at (201) 445-3149.