December 25, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Ridgewood School board will fund Learning Commons project The Ridgewood Board of Education voted last week to fund the Learning Com- mons project at Ridgewood High School, despite the state’s rejection of a request for funding to cover part of the program. The project will presumably be funded by $528,000 in additional spending of tax- payer money by the board from the district’s capital improvement account. The Learning Commons project includes work on Ridgewood High School’s 50-year- old library, adding a high-technology stu- dent center with group meeting rooms. Safety session AirMed One, Hackensack University Medical Center’s medevac helicopter, landed at Ridge- wood’s Veteran’s Field to conduct a brief helicopter safety program for Ridgewood’s first responders (police, fire, EMS, and emergency services personnel). The Eurocopter EC135- P2 chopper and its flight crew, ordinarily stationed at the Greenwood Lake Airport base, landed and departed about 30 minutes later. At least two dozen first responders participated in the informational session. (Photo courtesy of Boyd A. Loving.) Ridgewood had hoped to attract state funds to cover about 40 percent of the proj- ect, but earlier this month the New Jersey Department of Education did not approve the project as having a high enough prior- ity. The details of the Learning Commons project were scaled down slightly when the state aid did not come through. The district will seek bids for the project in January and construction will presum- ably start over the summer months when school is not in session. J. KOSTER