August 14, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Glen Rock Guests from Japan explore the ‘friendly borough’ by John Koster Most Onomachi guests from Japan rate the Glen Rock Pool as the borough’s fea- tured attraction, but for Makiko Fujii and Noe Ishii, having their photograph taken with “Darth Mayor” was also a big part of the fun. Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren debuted his “Darth Mayor” costume when he convened a special late-season Hallow- een after the Oct. 29, 2011 snowstorm that knocked down electric wires and cancelled trick-or-treating for local children. The gathering of hundreds of costumed local kids and dozens of costumed adults during the first week of November 2011 was such a hit that the mayor borrows the judge’s robe Toasting marshmallows involved spontaneous combustion. Fu-ka Nishimaki and Natsumi Akasaka and a Darth Vader mask every year as a staple of the Onomachi visit. Fujii and Ishii had just exited a hero sand- wich lunch in the council chambers when they looked wide-eyed at “Darth Mayor” in the courtroom -- and pulled out their cameras. The Onomachi youngsters and the kids from their American host families were invited to take over the bench while Mayor van Keuren lectured from the usual vantage point of the members of the public. “This is where I and the council hold our formal meetings,” Mayor van Keuren said. (continued on page 8)