Upper Saddle River November 16, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 Upper Saddle River voters have elected incumbent Republican Councilwoman Joanne Minichetti as the borough’s next mayor. She will be the first woman to serve in Upper Saddle River’s top elected post. “I am honored by the voters’ confidence in me and look forward to continuing to work hard to do what’s right for Upper Saddle River,” Minichetti told Villadom TIMES after the results were announced. “I have a great team in place. I am especially thrilled to be the first woman mayor of our community. What makes this even more special is that I am the mother of four daughters. I’ve always told them that anything worth doing is worth doing well. I hope to illustrate that in my new role.” Minichetti received 1,328 ballots to win the seat in the contested race, which drew nearly 42 percent of Upper Saddle River’s registered voters. Challenger Marshall Grupp, an Independent, received 715 votes in his bid for Minichetti wins mayor’s seat; voters nix referendum the mayor’s seat. Minichetti was named to the council in 2007. She is a planning board member and served as liaison to the zoning board and to the Historic Preservation Commission. She writes the borough bulletin, and contributes to the municipal website. She is also a Green Team member and representative to the library board. The mayor-elect has served as president of the board of health, and was a member of the Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission. She served as co-chair of the USR Vision 2020 Committee, which helped develop a 15year plan for the borough based on a survey of residents. She is one of three co-founders of the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation, and has served as presided of the PTO. She has been a Girl Scout leader for 20 years. Voters also defeated a public question that asked whether the borough should establish a trust fund to cover the pur- chase of properties for preservation, recreation, and conservation purposes. Voters nixed that proposal, with 658 voting in favor of the trust fund and 958 voting against it. Asked to comment on the defeat of the public question, Mayor Kenneth Gabbert said, “We are in difficult financial times. It is understandable that the residents are concerned for any increase in taxes. The borough council will continue to work with the available funds and county grants to make improvements to parks and recreation properties and facilities.” Borough voters also endorsed incumbent GOP Councilman Roger DeBerardine and GOP newcomer Steven DeMartino, who ran for Minichetti’s council seat. DeBerardine received 1,452 votes, and DeMartino received 1,454 ballots. There was no opposition for the two available seats on the borough council. The Upper Saddle River School District has six general educational openings available in its Integrated Preschool Program. Applications for the September 2012 program are available at www.usrschoolsk8.com or call (201) 961-6300 to request an application by mail. Preschool program announces openings The Integrated Preschool Program is a nursery school program that incorporates special education children with general education preschoolers. The program is held at Reynolds School. Special education youngsters are placed (continued on page 17)