Ho-Ho-Kus December 12, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 11 Captain stepping down; will stay involved in corps by Jennifer Crusco After 18 years as captain of the Ho-Ho-Kus Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Carol Tyler plans to step down when her term ends on Dec. 31. However, as she turns over the day-to-day operations of the corps to Gordon Hamm, Tyler will still be serving the organization as president come Jan. 1, 2013. “I’m very happy to hand over the reins,” Tyler told Villadom TIMES last week. “Gordon brings new energy to the office and he is very good at motivating people.” Hamm is an ambulance corps volunteer and former councilman. “I will still be riding nights and weekends,” Tyler said, “but I will be giving more time to CART.” She explained that CART is shorthand for the Bergen County Animal Rescue Team. Tyler said has been working with this organization since May, when she was recruited by Bergen County Police Detective Gidget Petry. In addition to rescuing animals that are in danger, Tyler said that part of CART’s mission is to allow people who are living in shelters to remain in the same shelters as their pets – although not in the same room. She pointed out that one of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina was that many people affected by that storm lost their lives because they wanted to remain with their pets. Tyler has been working with animals for many years. After spending two years as a veterinary technician, she became a New Jersey State Certified Animal Control Officer and worked for three Morris County municipalities. When she and her husband Gary moved to Ho-Ho-Kus in 1989, Tyler launched her family-owned animal control business, Tyco Animal Control Services, and soon became the animal control officer for the borough. Tyler now has contracts with 22 municipalities. She has two shelters for the housing and adoption of unclaimed pets. As a State Certified Animal Cruelty Investigator, she works closely with the Bergen County Prosecutors Animal Cruelty Task Force. In 2009, Tyler was recognized for her contributions to the force. Tyler joined the Ho-Ho-Kus Volunteer Ambulance Corps in 1989 and became an emergency medical technician during her first year. In 1990, she was elected to the Ho-Ho-Kus Ambulance Corps Executive Board. As captain of the corps, she has worked to build membership. Over the years, she has recruited her husband and her daughter, Christina, to become EMTs. She has worked on the reorganization of the Ho-HoKus Office of Emergency Management and has served as an advisor to the Ho-Ho-Kus Community Emergency Response Team. Tyler has worked with local Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, (continued on page 22) Carol Tyler This month, the Ho-Ho-Kus Council will hold public hearings on two ordinances. Ordinance 1012 would prohibit driveways that provide access to or from a public street through the rear yard of any dwelling in a residential zone, while Ordinance 1013 would increase license fees for retail food handling establishments and establish plan review fees. Ordinance 1012 was due for public hearing in November, but was tabled until the December council meeting to allow the planning board time to review the proposal. Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall previously explained that the intent of this ordinance is to have drive- Council schedules pair of hearings ways that serve properties from the front. The goal of this anticipatory measure, he said, is the cohesiveness of the borough’s neighborhoods. Borough officials noted that the Time of Decision Rule has made it more difficult for municipalities to make amendments to their codes once an applicant has filed with a local planning board or zoning board of adjustment. In prior years, municipalities had been allowed to make relevant code adjustments after an application had been made. Now, once an application has been filed, that request is controlled by the regulations that are in place at the time (continued on page 22)