August 1, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 25 Allendale Notebook Rotary Club welcomes new members The Allendale/Saddle River Rotary Club welcomes new members to its weekly meetings. Sessions are held at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays at Savini’s Restaurant, 168 West Crescent Avenue, Allendale. For more information on the club contact Joseph Chinnici at joseph.chinnici@td.com or (856) 266-7647. Club sets Town-wide Garage Sale Allendale residents are invited to participate in the Ninth Annual Town-wide Garage Sale organized by the Allendale Woman’s Club. The sale, set for Sept. 15, will benefit the club’s community service projects and charities. The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Rain date: Sept. 16.) In addition to handling event advertising and securing necessary permits, the AWC also publishes and distributes a map highlighting the addresses of all participating households. Lawn markers are provided to identify all participating homes. To be included in this town-wide event, mail a tax deductible donation of $25 prior to Aug. 15 to: AWC, 77 Ivers Road, Allendale, NJ 07401. After Aug. 15, the cost to participate will be $30. For more information, visit www.allendalewomansclub.org or contact Eleanor at (201) 934-0916 or eljohn@optonline.net. Please put TWGS in the subject line. Local resident honored Allendale resident Patricia Zieber was recently recognized by Inserra Supermarkets for 15 years of service. Zieber was one of 408 associates who were honored for their assistance in carrying on the legacy of the stores’ founder, Patsy Inserra. Established in 1954, the privately held business remains true to its roots as a family-owned grocery chain committed to serving families and children. Inserra Supermarkets is acknowledged as a good corporate citizen dedicated to making life better for those in the surrounding neighborhoods in which its supermarkets are located. Philanthropic activities have benefited business associations, public and private schools and universities, churches and temples, health and wellness organizations and hospitals, food pantries and soup kitchens, the Wyckoff YMCA, Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Hackensack University Medical Center, Mahwah Education Foundation, and Table to Table, the first food rescue program serving northern New Jersey. ‘Winter’s Tale’ comes to borough The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Next Stage eNSemble will present “The Winter’s Tale” at The Atrium Assisted Living at The Allendale Community for Mature Living on Aug. 10. This free program will begin at 2 p.m. The plot of this Shakespearean drama moves between King Leontes’ court in Sicilia and Bohemia. From the dramatic accusations in the high court of Sicilia, to the raucous and jovial Bohemian sheepsheering festival, to the revelatory final scene, “The Winter’s Tale” celebrates the triumph of love, nobility, and all things good, and ends with a promise of rejuvenation, redemption, and hope. The Brusco family is sponsoring this program in memory of David J. Brusco, local resident and lifelong fan of Shakespeare. The event is arranged by the borough’s Lee Memorial Library and Laurie Byro, the poet laureate of Allendale. Seating is limited for this free program and advance reservations are required. Complimentary refreshments will be served after the performance. The Allendale Community for Mature Living is located at 85 Harreton Road in Allendale. To register, call Mary Stampleman at (201) 818-7979 or visit www.allendalecommunity.com. Area Local chief offers advice to detect counterfeit bills by John Koster Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox has become a media celebrity by offering expert advice on how merchants and consumers can detect the new wave of counterfeit $100 bills. Several TV networks have called the Wyckoff Police Department to arrange televised interviews regarding detection techniques. The incident that triggered the media response took place July 17 at 5:19 p.m., when Wyckoff Police Sergeant Jack McEwan responded to a call from Walgreens at 655 Wyckoff Avenue on a report that a customer had attempted to pass a suspicious $100 bill. An investigation determined that a young male, described as Hispanic in appearance, attempted to make a $6 purchase with a $100 bill. The clerk and the store manager recognized the bill as counterfeit. The customer said he would go to his car for another bill, left the store, and went to the parking lot. He got into a maroon van with Florida license plates that was being operated by an older Hispanic male, and they drove away. A counterfeit $100 was later passed at a different pharmacy in Wyckoff. The clerk at the second pharmacy used a counterfeit detection marker, but the bill passed the “pen” test. The bill reached the bank before it was detected by a teller. “That bill was likely passed the same day and the bank will be out the money,” Chief Fox said. Counterfeit bills that have passed the “pen” test will fail the security strip test: A pre-2011 real $100 bill has the strip to left of Benjamin Franklin’s portrait. These fakes have it on the right. The new $100 bill in circulation has additional security features, including a 3D strip. The chief said the counterfeit bill passer who turned up in both store security videos is apparently the same person: a Hispanic male in his late teens or early twenties. Police said he tries to pay for a small purchase with a $100 bill that turns out to be counterfeit. Anyone who encounters this person is urged to contact the local police department immediately and should try to retain custody of the money. These incidents and similar incidents in North Jersey towns prompted Chief Fox to issue a detailed warning about the new wave of high-tech counterfeiting and how clerks, managers, and tellers can protect themselves from accepting counterfeit bills. At least one Ho-Ho-Kus merchant also took a counterfeit bill from two male His- A store security image shows one of the suspects. panics who are described as between 20 and 30 years old; one being slim and the other husky. Chief Fox explained last week that counterfeiters bleach the ink off genuine $5 bills and then print the markings of $100 bills on the authentic Federal Mint paper, producing a counterfeit $100 that feels genuine to the touch and can withstand the marker test. The bleaching of the $5 bills, however, does not remove the watermark printed into the paper below the surface, which remains visible when held up to strong light. “A phony $100 bill will have an Abraham Lincoln watermark if it was originally a $5 bill, instead of the Benjamin Franklin watermark on a real $100 bill,” Chief Fox noted. “Bleaching also does not remove the security thread in the paper. A real $100 bill has a vertical line that reads ‘USA 100’ when held up to light. The ‘100’ in the lower left corner on the front of a real $100 bill has micro printing in the numbers that read ‘100USA.’ This wording is illegible in a counterfeit bill.” Holding the bills up to strong artificial light or to sunlight will enable anyone who is interested to spot the markings that Chief Fox describes. Chief Fox advises business owners to visit the Secret Service website at www. secretservice.gov where they can print out color photos to assist in detecting fraudulent currency. This information should be made available to clerks who collect cash.