Midland Park October 10, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 The Midland Park Volunteer Fire Department’s ambitious project to build a lasting memorial to the men and women who died in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001, on the property next to the Witte Drive firehouse is finally completed and will be dedicated this Sunday, Oct. 14. The community is encouraged to attend. The program will begin at 2 p.m. in a tent adjacent to the park, with soloist Samantha Shaffer singing the national anthem and an invocation by the fire department’s chaplain, Rev. Rod Gorter of Midland Park Christian Reformed Church. Remarks by Fire Chief Mark Berninger and Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan will follow, and bagpipe music will close the event. A reception will follow. The memorial, designed and coordinated by Mark Milidantri of Jacobsen Landscape & Design, the firehouse’s neighbor, incorporated the previous firemen’s memorial Fire department sets Memorial Dedication this Sunday and trees planted in memory of deceased firefighters John Tulner, former Chief Chris Englishman, and Todd Sommerock. The gong memorial will now be dedicated in memory of Marinus “Pat” Witte, the only local firefighter to die in the line of duty. Plaques for Joseph Roberto and Midland Park High School graduate Neil Shastri, both of whom died in the World Trade Center attack, and a flagpole with an American and 9/11 flag are also incorporated. Berninger, who spearheaded the project, said that more than 50 local contractors, businesses and fire department members contributed free labor and equipment for the project. He estimated in-kind donations for the $50,000 project at $15,000. The focal point of the memorial park, the 2,800-lb steel beam section from the World Trade Center Berninger was able to secure from the Port Authority last year, will be (continued on page 14) On Sept. 20, Officer Thomas Bedoe was dispatched to the Midland Park High School to take a larceny report. It was reported that sometime overnight someone removed the athletic director’s parking sign from its post located in the front lot of the high school. The approximate value of the sign is $350. The case was forwarded to the detective bureau. Officer Steven Vander Pyl assisted. On Sept. 22, Officer Bedoe took a report Police Department Report from a Paterson Avenue resident who stated two fraudulent charges that amounted to more than $1,470 were made on her credit card. The case was forwarded to the detective bureau. On Sept. 23, an Erie Avenue resident reported to Officer Kevin Van Dyk that his son’s skateboard was taken on Sept. 22 at the skate park. It was described as a Real Ketch Good Times Skateboard with a (continued on page 10) Chief Mark Berninger, right, and DPW workers Mike Monti and Matt Tauber, from left, lower the base of the 9/11 Memorial onto the ground. Once the steel beam is placed on the base, the entire structure will rise to a height of 9 ft. 11 in.