Ridgewood August 15, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Traffic ordinance clarified prior to adoption vote by John Koster The traffic ordinance that will result in sweeping changes in turns, parking, stopping, and standing, was adopted at last week’s Ridgewood Council meeting after the governing body made some minor wording changes. “There have been instances where I had to cringe at the driving incidents I have seen,” said Paul Whalen, a 40-year village resident who lives near the Travell School, who praised the new ordinance. “I think enforcement is crucial...old habits die hard.” The ordinance revision came about because present traffic regulations sometimes lead to situations where motorists endanger children being dropped off or picked up at various Ridgewood schools. Several residents agreed that the ordinance was necessary, constructive, and important, but said some of the wording troubled them. Boyd Loving suggested that some of the wording be revised in the interest of consistency. Addressing a panel A wild chase in which a suspect jumped from a secondfloor window at Stop and Shop and fled police at ground level was the leading item in a list of petty crimes in Ridgewood during the first week of August. Police said a 25-year-old Paterson man was reported shoplifting at the Stop and Shop supermarket on Aug. 3 at 12:40 p.m. Store employees tried to detain the man, but he jumped from a window in the second floor liquor department while he was attempting to escape. Ridgewood Patrolman Raymond Tarino reportedly caught the man a short distance from the store. The suspect needed an ambulance due to the injuries he suffered when he jumped. The suspect was remanded to Bergen County Jail in Hackensack in lieu of bail. Glen Rock and Ridgewood police teamed up to investigate a suspicious person reported near the railroad tracks in the vicinity of Whole Foods. The effort ended with the arrest of a 25-year-old Ridgewood man, who was charged with possession of marijuana at 5 p.m. on Aug. 3. He faces an appearance in Ridgewood Municipal Court. Early the next day, Patrolman Joseph Youngberg was conducting a check of the Ridge School and located a group Wild chase, petty crimes reported that included Police Chief John Ward, Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser, and Emergency Services Director Brian Pullman, Loving successfully recommended a few changes that made the ordinance easier to understand, but equally effective in terms of safety. “I’m just concerned because we want to get some consistency and have these all the same,” Loving said. “Each ordinance is tailored specifically to what the schools requested,” Rutishauser said. Loving explained that he did not want to change the safety-related revisions -- only the manner in which the (continued on page 17) of young adults hanging around behind the building. The young people fled, leaving behind alcoholic beverages and personal belongings. One person located from the group, a 19-year-old Ridgewood woman, was charged with defiant trespass and faces an appearance in Ridgewood Municipal Court. A few hours later, at 3:31 a.m., Patrolman Youngberg conducted a motor vehicle stop and reported that the driver, a 47-year-old Brooklyn, New York man, was intoxicated. The driver was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, DWI in a school zone, refusal to submit to breath samples, consumption in a commercial vehicle, failure to keep right, and reckless driving. He was released pending an appearance in Ridgewood Municipal Court. The Ridgewood Police Department is also investigating a reported burglary from the last day of July. A Cathleen Terrace resident reported that the family home had been entered while the family was asleep and numerous pieces of jewelry and a safe were taken. The Ridgewood Detective Bureau and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office are investigating. J. KOSTER