Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • December 18, 2013 Waldwick Division championship eludes joint football team The Waldwick/Midland Park high school football team lost its bid for the North 1, Group 2 Division I cham- pionship on Dec. 7, losing 26-7 to powerhouse Westwood High School (11-1) in the final game at Kean University. A full contingent of Waldwick and Midland Park fans filled the stands, buoyed by the fact that this was Wald- wick’s first sectional championship game since 1988, and Midland Park’s first. “Although we did not come out on top, the Warriors played very hard for four quarters. The coaching staff and players should be proud of themselves,” said Waldwick High School’s Athletic Director Michael Clancy. “The amount of support from both communities was incredible. It was an awesome sight to see the amount of people standing on their feet and cheering. It was a great display of Warrior Pride.” Waldwick’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patricia Raupers echoed that sentiment at last week’s board of education meeting. “It was wonderful to see so many people out to support our football team at last Saturday’s state championship game at Kean University. They have had a tremendous season, and despite the final score, we can all be very proud of our players and their coaches,” she said. She said that the team’s achievement will be recognized at a board of education meeting in January. Midland Park Board of Education President William Sullivan applauded the success of the cooperative effort between the two schools that comprise the team. “Although the final didn’t turn out as we had hoped, we’re very proud of what our high school athletes accom- plished this season. The players have embraced each other as friends and teammates, and they played with a lot of confidence throughout the entire season,” commented Sullivan. “The success of this year’s football team is proof that the co-op is working as intended. High school athletic co-ops continue to become more popular in the county and state as they prove to be a safe and cost-effec- tive means to provide co-curricular programs to students in Group 1 high schools,” he added. The Waldwick Warriors team, which finished the season 9-3, has included players from Midland Park since the fall of 2005. Of the 45 athletes on the varsity roster, 22 are from Waldwick High School and 23 from Midland Park. The associate head coach and two assistant coaches are supplied by Midland Park High School. The Board of Commissioners of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority has unanimously approved a $12,972,502 operating budget for 2014. Chairman Brian Chewcaskie noted at this month’s special meeting that the budget represents a decrease of $2,632,005, or 17 percent from the authority’s amended 2013 budget of $15,604,507. “The budget will be submitted to the New Jersey Divi- sion of Local Government Services for their approval,” Chewcaskie said. “Distribution of the final budget and the 2013 final user service charges will be made as soon as possible, but no later than Jan. 15, 2014 as stipulated in our service contract.” It was also announced that the process included an amendment to the preliminary budget that had been approved by the authority commissioners on Oct. 16. This amendment was an adjustment to the projected capital budget for 2014, rescheduling several anticipated major capital projects from 2014 to 2015. The revision does not impact either the operating budget or the operating rev- enues required for 2014, officials said. Other highlights of the budget include: The 2014 operating portion of the $10,328,405 budget increased by $383,660 or 3.86 percent from the 2013 budget. The debt service portion of the budget decreased by $2,901,665, resulting from the retirement of authority bonds. The capital improvement portion of the budget decreased by $114,000. There was discussion that, even though flow intake was lower than normal, relatively few municipalities would experience increases due to infiltration at some municipal lines. Even in such cases, the cost per customer (continued on page 31) NBCUA budget to result in lowest per customer costs in past 13 years