January 9, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 23 Franklin Lakes Scribe Woman’s Club welcomes new members The Woman’s Club of Franklin Lakes, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of community, area, and national causes, welcomes new members. On Monday, Feb. 11, the club will host Heart to Heart at 11:30 a.m. Participants will hear about a Franklin Lakes family’s experience transporting gifts donated by the club to children and their mothers in Zihautanejo, Mexico. Gifts included pens, rulers, pencils, crayons, small carryalls, barrettes, combs, brushes, ribbons, and more. In addition, cash donations from the members allowed several impoverished families to purchase much-needed supplies. This meeting is a bring-your-own brown bag lunch; coffee and desserts will be provided. Bart D’Andrea will present a visual tour of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on Monday, March 11 at 7 p.m. D’Andrea holds an MA in fine arts and is a working artist, lecturer, and teacher at Bergen Community College. Coffee and dessert will be served. On April 18, Joseph Kasper, MD will present Positive Health. Dr. Kasper, a board certified internist, has been in practice for 19 years and is a member of the Saddle River Medical Group. Dr. Kasper received his medical training at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and is affiliated with The Valley Hospital. He is a Healthgrades recognized doctor. Coffee and dessert will be served. This program will begin at 7 p.m. The group meets in the Ambulance Corps Building on Bender Court. To join the club, contact Alice Booth at (973) 696-3476 or Lois Vitenson at (201) 891-5119. For 2103, the club’s beneficiaries are the Fraxa Research Foundation, Project Literacy of Bergen County, student scholarships, and local charities. Members of the community and general area are welcome to attend club programs. Learn about the college admission process The Franklin Lakes Public Library will present College 101: Preserving Sanity for High School Students & Parents on Thursday, Jan. 17 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Carolee Brockmann Gravina from College Bound Guidance, will offer an hour long primer on the college application process and will offer tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and find the milestones to gain college acceptance. A question and answer session will follow. This program is open to residents from all communities. Registration has begun. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. For details, call the library at (201) 891-2224. Letters to the Editor (continued from page 17) was, with over 250,000 miles. Many, many, thanks to Teterboro Chrysler Jeep. Emmanuel is a wonderful organization helping New Jersey families that are struggling with the nightmare of a child diagnosed with cancer. They provide in-home counseling for the families, material assistance, and financial aid. The foundation relies on all of us for financial support and donations to help ECF’s children and their families. Thank you again to Sal Anicito and Teterboro Chrysler Jeep. Marilyn Guinn Wyckoff Dear Editor: On behalf of the Midland Park Children’s Love Fund, I would like to thank all of the generous people who chose a tag from the Giving Trees and donated gifts to help make this Christmas special for families in Midland Park who are living through a difficult financial situation. We especially thank Family Hair Care, Starbucks, and the Midland Park Library for hosting our Giving Trees. Every tag was taken; each gift was given and graciously accepted, often with tears of appreciation and gratitude. Each gift was purchased and donated anonymously and with amazing generosity. We know that your donations were made in the spirit of giving and to make a child’s Christmas happy and we wish we could thank each of you personally. Your caring and compassion are deeply appreciated. If you missed the Giving Tree, but still feel the spirit of giving, the Midland Park Children’s Love Fund will be kicking off its yearly fundraiser in February. The Love Fund is happy to accept donations of any amount at any time of the year. Donations may be sent to the Midland Park Children’s Love Fund, P.O. Box 327, Midland Park, NJ 07432. Again, The Love Fund and the people they assist thank you for your kindness and love this season. Noreen Desbiens Midland Park Children’s Love Fund Dear Editor: Like some Midland Park parents, clearly not all, I was upset by the recent vote on the referendum for our schools. To the people who voted “no,” I commend you on your victory at the expense of our children. If some of you had just taken the time to visit any of the three schools, you would have seen the need for repairs. Growing up in Bergen County, and having visited other schools for various reasons, I can honestly say our schools are some of the worst maintained. This is in no way the fault of the staff. I cannot stress this enough. Everyone I have met at the schools, including the principals, teachers, maintenance staff, and the crossing guards go out of their way for our children and their schools. Voting this budget down this was a slap in the face to each one of them. Imagine going to work where the roof leaks, bathrooms are broken, communication lines are cut, and the temperature of your workspace is so hot you need to wear shorts in the winter. Everything in our schools has been outdated for over 20 years. I have been to schools in Essex, Passaic, and Monmouth counties as well, and their schools are also in better condition than ours. I can appreciate the concern over higher taxes, but this also affects the property value of our homes. The schools will continually get worse, not better. Passing this problem on to the next generation of Midland Park residents is not only selfish, it is against everything I have learned about being a responsible citizen. I went to the recent board of education meeting since the referendum vote. Some of the BOE members were very informative and equally concerned about our schools and children, while other members seemed to become irritated with questions from concerned parents. Those parents were there to support the BOE, the referendum, and the students. Furthermore, they passed the blame on to the mayor and the council, while the mayor and the council blames the BOE. Although this letter may seem a bit harsh, we need to try to address the problems of our schools as a community. Whether or not you have children in Midland Park’s schools, we should all understand and appreciate the importance of a safe, well-maintained school. The condition of our schools reflects the pride and admiration we have in our town. I urge everyone in town to really think about the importance of an education. What are we saying about ourselves that in the 10 years since the last referendum vote nothing has been fixed and nothing is going to get fixed? What will happen to Midland Park when young families move out and no new families want to move in? If the voters of Midland Park truly believe the best solution for our schools is to not properly fund them, the mayor, council, and the BOE need to come together to solve this problem. Brendan Jackson Midland Park Dear Editor: We would like to add our voices to that of John Grisoni, who urged the Wyckoff Township Committee to reconsider grass collections at least in the spring and early fall. His letter appeared in the Dec. 19 edition of Villadom TIMES. We are home gardeners who always enjoyed doing our own yard work. However, the burden of carrying our own heavy grass clippings to the recycling center is too much. We are not youngsters, and were shocked to hear that service at the curb would be eliminated. Mr. Grisoni has all the right reasons for continuing curbside pick up of grass clippings, if only during the spring and early fall. If would be a big help to those of us who do our own yard work. Marianne Van Blarcom James Van Blarcom Wyckoff Thankful for community’s generosity Supports request for grass pick up Urges community to pull together FLOW Notes Parent group to honor Hank Bitten FLOW Follies will host a Beefsteak Dinner at the Oakland Elks Club, 33 Ramapo Valley Road in Oakland, to honor Hank Bitten, who is retiring as supervisor of social studies in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. The dinner will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 12. The cost is $50 per person and includes the beefsteak, beer, wine, and soda. The event will feature prize baskets, a cash prize contest, and an auction. To purchase tickets, e-mail flowfolliesevents@gmail.com. FLOW Follies is a parent-led volunteer organization that provides scholarships to graduating seniors at Indian Hills and Ramapo high schools. Dance benefit announced The Ramapo Indian Hills Dance Group will hold its first dance benefit on Friday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Indian Hills High School Auditorium. “Something to Dance For” will feature dancers and choreographers from both Ramapo and Indian Hills high schools. All proceeds will benefit the Lustgarten Foundation, which raises money for research to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Tickets are $10; $8 for seniors. Indian Hills is located at 97 Yawpo Avenue in Oakland. We welcome press releases from our readers. Items may be sent to editorial@villadom.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon the week prior to publication.