Midland Park June 19, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Midland Park town officials are looking into providing lightning warning protection at the Highland School field. A warning device has been in place atop Midland Park High School since 2008. Councilman Scott Pruiksma, the council’s recreation liaison, told the mayor and council last week that the board of recreation had suggested the possibility of extending the protection to Highland because the town recreation teams use that field as well. Pruiksma said the high school Lightning warning may be extended to Highland School system, which monitors the town recreation fields and the Sonny Santorine Athletic Field, has been activated on several occasions and works well. “We have been having more storms, and the coaches have noticed the system has been going off a lot. It’s a good thing we have it. We use the Highland field, so we should have it there too,” he stressed. Pruiksma said that with new technology, perhaps the high school devise can be fitted to beam over an alarm to Highland, or the school could get its own devise. He said he had discussed the idea with town field manager Dave Lancaster, who would look into options and costs. The town received a grant to purchase the current system, which cost about $6,000, Pruiksma said, adding that grant options would be investigated this time also. Board of Education President William Sullivan supported the effort. “The high school’s device is working very well. It makes sense to put one at Highland, since both the town and the schools use that field. It will be for the mutual benefit of the school and the recreation programs,” Sullivan said. The Thor Guard lightning prediction system now in place continuously monitors the atmosphere’s electrostatic energy as far away as 15 miles and evaluates the potential (continued on page 24) Rotary presents scholarships The Wyckoff/Midland Park Rotary Club awarded more than $16,000 in college scholarships at a breakfast meeting last week. Award recipients pictured at the event with scholarship committee members are, from left, Rotarians Dr. Mary Orr and Emmy Eliya; Anne Borgeson of Wyckoff, Ramapo High School; Rotary President Andrew Garlick; Olivia Surgent of Wyckoff, Immaculate Heart Academy; Christopher Ferrante, Midland Park High School; Tracy Wilkinson of Wyckoff, Ramapo High School; Zachary Vander Weile of Midland Park, Eastern Christian High School; Kate Potenzano, Midland Park High School; Rotarian Russell Kamp; Kelley Brower, Midland Park High School; Rotarian Frederick Farcy; and Natalie Cioffary of Midland Park, Paramus Catholic High School. Each student received a $2,000 scholarship. In addition, Borgeson received the Al D’Aloisio Memorial Scholarship and Ferrante received the John Hartmann Memorial Scholarship.