Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • March 6, 2013 Glen Rock Commission welcomes Sylvia Rabbachi as member by John Koster Dr. Sylvia Rabbachi recently took her oath as the newest member of the Glen Rock Environmental Commission with credentials that delighted the borough council and the activist group’s other members. Educated in Italy, Rabacchi received the equivalent of an MS degree in biology and then earned a doctorate in neurological sciences from the University of Turin. She then received a four-year post-doctoral fellowship from Harvard Medical School’s department of neurobiology and spent two years at the Universitè Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. She then worked at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, where she studied the visual system. Currently a faculty associate at Seton Hall University, Dr. Rabacchi teaches biology, anatomy, physiology, and neuroendocrinology. She previously taught at Bergen Community College. When she returned to the United States at the time of her marriage in 1994, Dr. Rabacchi noticed the great level of waste in terms of electricity, heat, and air conditioning, and the excessive use of plastic bags and plastic bottles. She said she developed a strong desire to reach out to the community about ways to reduce the waste of fossil fuels and the use of plastic. She made a presentation at the Central School in Glen Rock to the fifth graders including practical tips on how to reduce the human impact on the environment. She also bought a secondhand hybrid car and helped the “Green Up Glen Rock” plan with initiatives such as the distribution of compact fluorescent light bulbs and the recycling of library books. She became further involved as her daughter, Laura Jones, started to pursue a plastic bottle reduction project at the Glen Rock Middle School and High School. Dr. Rabacchi will fill the unexpired term of Sandy Chapman, which expires in 2013. The other members of the Glen Rock Environmental Commission are Chairman Cindy Mehallow and members Naomi Gamorra, Lesley Elton, and Andy Curshen, all serving through 2014; and Scott King and Paul Sharar, both serving though 2015. Nursery school marks Purim The Glen Rock Jewish Center Nursery School recently celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim with a costume parade, the making of hamantashen (special holiday cookies), the creation of groggers (noise makers) and a family celebration where parents and children made silly hats together.