Wyckoff January 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 De Phillips named mayor; Scanlan asserts partisan bias by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee has appointed Christopher De Phillips as Wyckoff’s mayor for 2012 and named Rudy Boonstra deputy mayor. The approval vote was 4-1 as Township Committeeman Brian Scanlan, sworn to his second term of office, voted “no” to the governing body’s list of appointments. Scanlan, the lone Democrat and the top vote-getter in the November election, was named liaison to the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment and the Ramapo/Indian Hills Board of Education. “In our form of government, the mayor chairs the township committee meetings, but the mayor still has only one vote,” Scanlan said in a prepared statement issued after the vote on Jan. 1. “In view of that fact, it’s credibly disappointing that my colleagues have decided to be so relentlessly A joint investigation of the Wyckoff Police Department and the Franklin Lakes Police Department led to the Jan. 3 arrest of a 14-year-old Wyckoff girl. The youth has been charged with making terroristic threats. The girl was arrested after making a posting on Facebook that stated she was looking for individuals to contact her in order to make a terrorist attack against Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes. Wyckoff’s high school age students go to both Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes and Indian Hills High School in Oakland. Wyckoff Detective Sergeant Michael Musto and Franklin Lakes Detective Jeffrey Jost arrested the girl at her home. She was charged on a complaint with one count of terroristic threats. The complaint has Teen charged with making terroristic threats online been referred to Bergen County Juvenile Court. Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox reported that the police departments are working closely with officials at the high school so school staff, students, and parents are assured of the safety of the school. There are no known other individuals involved in the incident, and the threat appears to have been limited to the social network site posting, police said. Chief Fox further reported that he has spoken about the incident with Oakland Police Chief Edward Kasper and with Wyckoff’s K-8 Superintendent of Schools Richard Kuder, so both officials could be prepared to answer questions from concerned parents, although the threat appears to have been directed solely against Ramapo High School. Left: Christopher De Phillips. Right: Brian Scanlan. partisan about the selection of mayor and deputy mayor. If the election on Nov. 8 told us anything, it’s that our residents see no need for partisanship at the local level. It’s not helpful. It’s not good for the town, and I’m surprised that my colleagues want to continue to ignore that strong message.” He had previously faulted the township committee for favoring Republicans in appointments to non-elective boards even after qualified Democrats or maverick Republicans offered to serve. He is the first Democrat elected to the Wyckoff Township Committee since the Great Depression, though Democrats or non-affiliated (continued on page 17)