Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • January 9, 2013 sity in his short life, Joel is a cheerful, thoughtful child with an amazingly positive outlook. He enjoys music, movies, and football. He is unable to participate in many physical activities, but is looking forward to a sports-filled future. He loves meeting with his ECF caseworker and is always excited to give an update on his progress at school. Joel’s mother is incredibly involved and supportive of her son. She is currently unemployed because she frequently had to leave work to care for Joel. She is actively searching for work, but this small family is struggling financially. To complicate matters, they have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy. When asked what he would wish for this Christmas, Joel answered, “Food and warm clothes and blankets.” He didn’t even consider his own wants. When questioned further, he said he would like a portable DVD player and some movies. Joel’s sizes are as follows: 34/30 pants, M/L men’s shirts, and size 10 shoes. Joel would be incredibly grateful if his wishes were to come true. Our annual fundraiser will be held at The Brick House on Friday March 1. Please call us if you would like to be involved. We could use help in marketing, selling tickets, finding sponsors, etc. This annual fundraiser is very important to us. The proceeds help support our families in northern New Jersey. Tickets are $75 per person or $700 for a table of 10. Please join us for an evening of cocktails and buffet dinner, dancing, and auctions. One of our teenage clients will be our guest speaker. Call (201) 612-8118. Invitations will be mailed soon. Please call if you would like to receive an invitation and haven’t. We rely on the local community to help support our families. Many of them do not have the financial or emotional support to help them get through a major illness like cancer. We do not charge anything for our services. We rely on you! You can help us in a variety of ways. Turn your event into a fundraiser, and collect checks or gift cards for our families. Your efforts help us to help families in many ways, including sending a case worker to visit the families at their home or in the hospital. This support for the kids, their siblings, and parents is crucial. Get your kids involved, too. Some have held sales or events and donated the proceeds to ECF. Is your Cub Scout or Girl Scout Troop looking to earn badges? Call us for some ideas to get creative and have fun while learning about philanthropy! If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer, or just stop by and meet with us, take a look at our pantry, and see what ECF is all about. Call us at (201) 612-8118 before you stop by. Please do not leave items at the center without checking with us first. Our storage space is limited. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue in Midland Park. Visit us on the web at www.emmanuelcancer.org. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families! Board member Joseph Pullaro commented that the board had always considered the end of the commercial business district to be at Pulis Avenue. He voiced the concern that rezoning this property would lead to other residential property owners on Franklin Avenue requesting the same type of rezoning. “Where is it going to stop?” he asked. Board member Peter Gostkowski said that all the neighbors of the property are in favor of the rezoning, it fits the character of the area, and it would benefit the borough. “If you are going to do it someplace,” Gostkowski said, “this is the place to do it.” Board member Joseph Palmieri agreed with Gostkowski, saying he did not see anything negative in the rezoning that would impact the surrounding area. Board member Gary Sheppard voiced a strong concern about the potential traffic problems the redevelopment of this site could create in the area. He objected to the fact that Burgis did not provide a traffic study to support his claim that the traffic generated by the rezoning would be acceptable. Following a lengthy discussion, board member Jay Lazerowitz moved to recommend the rezoning to the borough council. The motion was seconded by Palmieri, but the vote ended in a tie, with Lazerowitz, Palmieri, Gostkowski and Councilman Charles Kahwaty voting in favor. Pullaro, Jules Lauber, Chairwoman Kim Vierheilig, and Sheppard voted against the motion. Planning Board Attorney John Spizziri advised that, according to the land use law, the tie vote constituted a defeat of the motion, which was communicated to the council along with the board’s finding that the rezoning ordinance would not be consistent with the master plan. The adoption of the rezoning ordinance was later denied by the council. F.J. McMAHON Our hat’s off to the first grade members of the CCD Home Group Service Project who made giant stockings filled with goodies for our families. The kids are Joey, Bobby, Daniel, Matthew, Erin, Alexandra, and Joseph. We thank everyone who helped with the holidays, from the food baskets and gifts to the volunteers and drivers who made sure all 60 families received food, gift cards, and presents! Our thoughts are with our families who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy. They will continue to have many needs long after the repairs are done. Please call us to see how you can help. We are looking for gently-used clothes for boys ages ten and up, and new twin and queensize sheets. We need a few office volunteers weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m. who can help fill in when one of our regular volunteers is unable to make it in. Call Laura at (201) 612-8118 to learn more. Meet Joel: Joel has retinoblastoma, a rare type of eye cancer that usually develops in early childhood. In most children with retinoblastoma, the disease affects only one eye. However, one out of three children with retinoblastoma develops cancer in both eyes. Joel is one of these children. He has had several operations, but the mass behind his left eye is inoperable and has left him with partial blindness. In addition, Joel is diabetic and is restricted to lowsugar or sugar-free items. Joel is now 11 and in the sixth grade. He was transferred to a school 45 minutes from his home to escape relentless bullying due to his condition and appearance. Despite the fact that he has had to overcome much adver- Rezoning ordinance (continued from page 3) from several residents. Burgis described the characteristics of the property and the uses permitted in the LB-1 zone. He pointed out that one of the goals of the master plan is to enhance the nonresidential tax base and said the rezoning of this property would be a reasonable and appropriate way to reach that goal. He also said the proposal would eliminate the development of the 50-foot wide piece of property that extends from his client’s property to Shirley Avenue and would avoid the non-conformity that development would create -- something the residents of Shirley Avenue have said they strongly support. Burgis also claimed that his engineer’s report indicates that traffic generated by the rezoning would be acceptable and adequate and therefore would not be a critical issue. Commorata said his proposal would provide a good ratable for the borough, while the alternatives could include a learning center for children, affordable housing, or residential housing that could create a street access to Shirley Avenue. McManus advised the board that, while the rezoning is not consistent with the master plan, that fact did not mean the board could not make a finding in support of the rezoning. She emphasized that it was not a black and white issue because the site is in a transition area, and is nearly adjacent to the commercial business area. McManus told the board the issue before it was how that section of Franklin Avenue should be developed. She explained that the board’s decision would either reinforce the residential nature of the area or define a new boundary for the commercial business district. ������������������ ������������������������ ����������������� ������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������ ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ����������������� ��������������������������� ��������������������� �������������������������� ���������������������������� ���������������������������������� ������������� ������������������ ���������������������������