Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 29, 2012 dollar goes toward direct care for our families. If your company has a charitable giving program, please let us know. Each month, we distribute about 140 bags of food to our families. You can help us fill our pantry. When you go grocery shopping and something non-perishable is on sale, please grab some extra items and drop them off at our outreach center. Staples such as sugar, flour, salt, cooking oil, detergent, pancake mix/syrup, and rice are always needed. Consider turning your next event into a fundraiser for ECF, and ask guests to bring checks or gift cards to be used by our families. Your efforts help us to help our families in many ways, including sending a case worker to visit the families at home or in the hospital. Kids can help, too. Many have held sales or other events and contributed the proceeds to ECF. If your Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop needs to earn badges, visit us in Midland Park. Scouts can get creative and have fun helping our families as they learn about philanthropy. ECF representatives are available to discuss our programs at your next fundraiser or event. Give us a call for more information. If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer, or just stop by and meet with us, take a look at our pantry, and see what ECF is all about. This September, we will need a volunteer on Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. Call (201) 6128118 before you stop by. Please do not leave items at the center without checking with us first. Our storage space is limited. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue, Midland Park, NJ 07432. Visit us at www.emmanuelcancer. org. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families! Prior to the adoption of this ordinance, the borough council introduced an ordinance last month to establish regulations for solar energy systems that are intended to provide power for the principal use of both residential and non-residential properties in the borough. That ordinance requires that a solar energy system will only be permitted as an accessory use on the same lot as the principal use, and all solar energy systems must receive the approval of the borough’s planning board prior to installation. When that ordinance is adopted by the council, solar panels would be permitted as a rooftop installation in any zoning district, but they would have to conform to the requirements of that ordinance concerning height and location. In addition, a permit would be required. That permit would be issued by the borough construction official after the planning board’s approval is received. F.J. McMAHON Our hat’s off to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Ramsey for the much needed food contributions. We want to give a big thank you to Miss Patti’s School of Dance. Patti and Darryl generously donated dinner and show tickets to “Peter and the Star Catcher” to several families. We appreciate their thoughtfulness! Fall needs: We need window air conditioning units that are new or in good working condition for our families. Some of our families could use prepaid phone cards for Cricket Mobile. We would also appreciate gift cards to TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and IKEA. We will give these cards to our families for fall and back-to-school clothing, and some much-needed furniture. In addition, we can use gas station gift cards. We need new sheets for twin and queen size beds and Good Night Pampers Stage 4. We also need new pillows, dish towels, and bath towels. One family could really use an air purifier. Meet Esme: Esme is a vivacious 17-yearold who has leukemia. Esme has a twin brother she adores and who has been suf- fering a great deal since she was diagnosed and has undergone intensive treatment. Esme was also diagnosed with diabetes as a complication of the chemotherapy and has to be very diligent with her diet and testing her blood sugar. Esme’s family finds it very difficult to afford the test strips needed to test her blood sugar. They pay $30 every eight days in order to buy the strips (AccuCheck). Since Esme does not have medical insurance, her family has to struggle with purchasing the medical items needed to ensure that Esme’s diabetes does not cause her more medical issues than she already has. Esme loves to shop and do her nails. Her smile is infectious, and her attitude about her hair loss is inspirational. Esme told her case worker Stephanie, “I don’t care about my hair loss. That will grow back. All I care about is my health.” You can help in a variety of ways. ECF uses monetary contributions to cover the costs associated with providing free services to any New Jersey child who has cancer. Approximately 70 cents from every Solar energy (continued from page 4) Mike Mazzeo, a resident of Waldwick and a representative of Solar Living Inc in Netcong, voiced his objection to the new fees, especially those for inverters, which he claimed could add a significant cost to the property owner. He also complained about the delay and other costs that will be caused by the requirement to obtain planning board approval. Mazzeo was asked to contact the borough’s construction code official, who recommended the fees to the council to defray the cost of the inspections that will be necessary to make sure the solar panel systems operate properly. He was advised that, if it becomes necessary, the ordinance would be amended.