July 27, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 7 Waldwick Waldwick Mayor Russell “Buddy” Litchult has established a committee to interface with the newly-formed Friends of White’s Pond. Councilwoman Anita Bozzo as well as the mayor and Borough Administrator Gary Kratz will serve on the committee and will act as liaisons with the citizens’ group. Kratz said the committee’s task will be to follow up on possible leads for financing for the project. “We are doing the legwork on it and see where we get. We are running down a variety of sources – anything they suggest - to see if anyone can assist in this endeavor,” Kratz said. Spearheaded by White Pond Road resident Andrea Mistreta, Friends of White’s Pond is a loosely organized group whose goal is to “Save White’s Pond.” “We are just a group of neighbors who love the pond. It improves the quality of life. Residents could fish, boat, ice skate, take a lunchtime break,” she said. “If something is not done, the lake will start to disappear into a stream like the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook,” she added. The group asserts that the lake adds to the value of homes in Waldwick, helps abate mosquito proliferation, aids water management to protect from flooding by underground streams and provides an estuary for wildlife. Mistreta has been speaking to community groups in hopes of enlisting their support as well and is circulating a petition to bolster her cause. And she hopes to get a crowd out at this week’s meeting of the mayor and council. Mistreta said ongoing harvesting of debris from the pond is only a stopgap measure, “a band-aid”. She said the pond is very shallow already, one or two feet in the center and inches around the edges. “It needs to be dredged, and it’s very expensive. We are urging the town to seek professional grant writers who specialize in environmental grants so we can do the dredging as soon as possible. We have to pursue different avenues Committee will interface with Friends of White’s Pond for getting the money. It does not need to affect taxes,” Mistreta said during last week’s meeting of the Waldwick Chamber of Commerce. “We need to try to preserve it. It’s the backdrop to our town,” commented chamber President Christine Figliuolo. Joseph Chinnici, manager of TDBank in Allendale, present at the chamber meeting, suggested Mistreta contact the Hackensack Riverkeeper, whom he said may have more insight into how to tap federal, state funds or private funds for the project. And he suggested speaking to other towns which may have done the same thing. The 7.8-acre lake was last dredged in 1974. The dam was built in the 1930s as a WPA project, and the lake was (continued on page 23) Troy Seifert, a life-long resident of Waldwick, has been promoted to the rank of sergeant on the borough’s police department. Seifert graduated from Waldwick High School in 1998 and went on to study criminal justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and William Paterson University. In 1999, he was hired as a dispatcher for the Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department. After eight months of dispatching, Ho-HoKus hired Seifert as a patrolman. He worked in Ho-Ho-Kus for five years before transferring to the Waldwick Police Department in April 2005. As a member of the Waldwick Police Department, Sergeant Seifert has served as the local schools’ DARE officer and is the police department’s juvenile officer. Seifert holds certifications in child safety seat installation, drug recognition, and is a certified emergency medical technician. Seifert is a member of the Waldwick Police Department’s Honor Guard, and has served on the Executive Board of PBA Local #217 since 2008. Recently, Sergeant Seifert has served the department as a field training Officer. Outside of work, Sergeant Seifert is involved in youth sports and coaches for the Waldwick Baseball/Softball Association. He resides in Waldwick with his wife, Erin, and his two daughters, Emma and Maggie. Seifert promoted to rank of sergeant Tony Seifert is sworn in as his family looks on.