Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • December 14, 2011 Allendale Officials attend special needs rescue conference by John Koster Allendale Councilwoman Amy Wilczynski, Police Chief George Scherb, and Police Detective John Mattiace recently attended a regional conference with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on how to cope with special needs citizens during emergences such as Hurricane Irene or the subsequent October snowstorm. Marcie Roth of the FEMA Office of Disability Management and Coordination was a featured speaker at the conference, held at Bergen Community College in Paramus. The event was moderated by Bergen County Division of Special Services Director Jim Thebery. “After Hurricane Katrina, people realized that folks with special needs were not accounted for in the planning,” said Ridgewood Councilman Paul Aronson, who also took part in the conference along with Ridgewood Fire Chief James Van Goor and other village officials. Aronson, long active in advocacy for special needs citizens, said the conference could foster local and county planning to help special needs people in case of rescue, medical needs, or emergency (continued on page 27) Exploring new horizons At left: Sasha Makarovskiy of Allendale is assisted by his grandfather, Boris, as he builds a vehicle powered by the spring device of a mousetrap for his class More Technology Lab at the Gifted Child Society’s Saturday Workshop. At right: Nicole Natale of Allendale is assisted by her mother, D’Arcy, as she embellishes a plain T-shirt into a one-of-a-kind design for her class Fashion Pizzazz. The class encourages and teaches students to create their own original works.