Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • February 29, 2012 FLOW Area Wyckoff Wanderings Wyckoff Seniors Club plans events The Wyckoff Seniors Club will celebrate Saint Joseph’s and Saint Patrick’s days with a March 13 luncheon. The group will hold an Easter luncheon on April 10. This year marks the club’s 50th Anniversary. The group will celebrate on April 24 with a luncheon at The Brick House in Wyckoff. The club meets every Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Larkin House located at 380 Godwin Avenue in Wyckoff. Temple celebrates Purim, holds events Temple Beth Rishon invites the community to a Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 4 at11:30 a.m. The carnival will feature food, games, activities, music, and dancing. Admission is $5 per adult and $12 per child. Children age two and under will be admitted free of charge. Proceeds support the Temple Beth Rishon Youth Group. To register, call (201) 891-4466 or visit bethrishon.org. On March 7, Purim will be celebrated with a family Megillah reading at 6 p.m. A performance by the youth choir and a costume parade and dinner will follow at 6:50 p.m. An adult Megillah reading will be held at 7:30 p.m. Dinner is free for members with reservations. The cost for non-members is $18 per adult and $7 for children ages five through 12. RSVP at (201) 891-4466 by March 1. The Reader’s Circle book club will discuss “Alicia” by Alicia Appleman-Jurman on Thursday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Sandy Olshansky will hold a Torah discussion group on Saturdays at 9 a.m. Build familiarity with this sacred text and get acquainted with some of its most provocative commentators. All reading and discussion is in English. Upcoming sessions will be: March 3, TetzavehZachor, the trouble with Amalek; March 17, Vayak’helPekudei, bronze age building fund; and March 31, Shabbat Ha-Gadol, Malachi, the end of days. The temple is located at 585 Russell Avenue. Y plans Annual Ladies Night Out The Wyckoff YMCA will host its 16th Annual Ladies Night Out on Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held at Seasons Restaurant in Washington Township. The evening includes hors d’oeuvres, dinner, beverages, and dessert along with a live band, karaoke entertainment, and the Y’s basket fundraiser. The cost is $55 per person. To reserve tickets, call Nancy at (201) 891-2081. Members and non-members are welcome. McParland to perform at dinner Folk singer/guitarist Bob McParland will entertain at the Potluck Dinner/Music Night of the Christian Singles of North Jersey on Saturday, March 3. The event will be held at the Faith Community Christian Reformed Church Barn at 530 Sicomac Avenue in Wyckoff. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring a main dish, salad, soup, or appetizer to share (for approximately six people). Desserts, coffee, tea, soda, and snacks will be provided. The cost is $4. For information and/or directions, call (201) 337-7492. 4-H offers children’s gardening class A six-week Junior Master Gardener Program for children ages eight to 11 will be held at Abma’s Farm, 700 Lawlins Road in Wyckoff, on Saturdays, March 3 through April 28. The international youth gardening program is run by the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension 4-H Network. Participants will learn where food comes from, with a concentration on vegetable and herb gardens; how to choose, plan, plant, and harvest a garden plot; nutrition in the garden; materials that may be made from a harvest; and how to care for plants. Students who participate in all activities will be eligible for a Junior Master Gardener Corn Cob pins (Chapter 7). Once all eight chapter pins are earned, the student can qualify for the prestigious Junior Master Gardener Certification. The cost is $30. Classes will be held from 9 to 11 a.m., and the group will be limited to 10 students. For more information, or to sign up, contact Monica at monica@abmasfarm. com or Pam at (201) 891-0278, extension 7. Board votes to move to fall election by Frank J. McMahon At a recent special session, the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education voted 8-0 to move its annual school board election to the date of the November general election. The board also voted to invoke a seldom used aspect of the state’s ethics law, the “Doctrine of Necessity,” which permits school boards to vote on matters in which they have a conflict of interest. In this case, the conflict is that the trustees would be voting to extend their terms in office from April to January, when the board will reorganize. Two of the three K-8 boards of education in the regional school district, Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff, also voted to move their elections to November. Oakland voted to leave this year’s election in April and plans to place a referendum on the ballot in November to determine whether residents in that municipality want to move the election. The consensus of the regional high school board was that they had done their research on the ramifications of the new law that permits moving the election. They believe that holding the school election in November will generate more voter interest and will provide more time for voters to go to the polls because the hours for voting are longer in the general election. The trustees also expressed the belief that the benefits of moving the election date outweighed the detriments, the major one of which is that the public will not have the opportunity to vote on the school district’s budget as long as it remains at or below the state-mandated cap on the tax levy increase, which is now two percent. Several trustees pointed out that any budget amount over the tax levy cap would have to be voted on as a separate question on the ballot in the general election, and the district’s budget must still be approved by the Bergen County Superintendent of Schools. Board of Education President Ira Belsky expressed the opinion that, although the district’s budget has seldom been defeated at the polls over the years, when it is, “An axe is taken to the budget.” He said it is very costly and has a significant impact on the district’s programs. “The real question is to what extent voters care,” Belsky said. “A significant number of voters seem not to care and everyone who cares deeply should be on the school board.” He explained that trustees often seek election unopposed and vacancies are not filled on school boards. He said moving the election might motivate some people to get involved by seeking election to the school board. Franklin Lakes Board of Education trustees Craig Urciuoli and Margaret Bennett attended the meeting and offered different opinions. (continued on page 9) Students from Ramapo High School recently signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Left: Soccer athletes Ali Gilard, Coastal Carolina University; and Devan Schulte, Bucknell University. Right: Football athletes Tim Sternfeld, LIU CW Post; Mike Hroncich, Assumption College; and Doug Norkett, Southern Connecticut State University. Ramapo seniors sign letters of intent