October 9, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Ridgewood Concert had kids, grandparents singing along mark of wearing socks of two different colors. The Sunday afternoon program was sponsored by the Ridgewood Children’s Library and Children’s Library Director Lois Brodie said she was delighted to have booked the two musicians who played the folk songs she remembered -- a sentiment shared by the older people in the audience, who sang along without being asked, although Handy and Prestopino were pleased they did. Prestopino’s instruments included an acoustic guitar, a mandolin, and a dobro, an acoustic guitar with steel plates on the sounding board, designed so the guitar could be heard as part of jazz renditions in the 1920s. Some of the songs were social protest, such as Woody Guthrie’s “Do-Re-Mi” about California police turn- ing away desperate migrants without money, and Pete Seeger’s “Turn, Turn, Turn,” a peace song. Others by Handy were sometimes about workaday fun and other- wise encouraged people to vote to be part of the political process. “I think we could bring this country closer and closer to the dream the Founders had,” Handy said of the songs of commitment and protest. by John Koster Spook Handy and his much-traveled sideman, Paul Pre- stopino, took their audience of kids, parents, and grand- parents on a stroll down memory lane with songs from the 1960s song movement, or songs written in that style, which had children and adults singing and clapping. Handy, who is just finishing up as Rutgers University’s artist in residence, offered residents a concert filled with the folk songs of Woody Guthrie; Peter Seeger; and Peter, Paul, and Mary, balladeers and protest singers of the tur- bulent 1960s and the years just before and after. Prestopino was a musician for the Chad Mitchell Trio for seven years, and later worked with John Denver, and with Peter, Paul and Mary on and off for 14 years. Mary Travers died some years ago, but Paul Prestopino played backup for Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow in the PBS con- cert filmed a few years ago as a fundraiser and tribute. “He’s the guy in the background with two colored socks on,” Handy said, referring to Prestopino’s trade- Board authorizes multiple changes The Ridgewood Board of Education has increased the hours and salary of Lisa Valenti, an art teacher at Ridgewood High School, from full-time to more than full-time with a pay increase. The change of assignment from full-time art teacher at a salary of $82,913 with an MA plus 45 credits at Step 11 to $91,174 with a position at 1.1 of full-time teaching. A stipend of $450 to teach an in-service course was awarded to Maureen LaBarr, who will be teaching a course for the Children’s Literature Book Group during five sessions from October through January 2014. Raymond Lug, the part-time district-wide painter, was approved to receive an hourly rate of $20 an hour, not to exceed 20 hours a week, and not to exceed a total of $20,000. J. KOSTER Paul Prestopino and Spook Handy