July 24, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 15 Saddle River Valley Notes Party Dolls to perform Upper Saddle River residents are invited to a free out- door concert in Lions Park on Wednesday, July 31. The concert will feature The Party Dolls, which is comprised of three female vocalists who sport mini-skirts, go-go boots, and funky diva garb. The show includes medleys from the ‘60s (Supremes, Aretha Franklin), ‘70s (Donna Summer, Earth, Wind and Fire) and ‘80s (Madonna, The Go-Go’s) and more. The concert will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic baskets. In the event of rain, the concert will be held at the Upper Saddle River Library at 245 Lake Street. The event is sponsored by the Upper Saddle River Recreation Commis- sion and the Friends of the Upper Saddle River Library. Midnight Toast to appear The Borough of Saddle River’s Summer Concert Series will conclude on July 25 with Midnight Toast. The 7 p.m. concert will be held at the Rindlaub Park Band Shell at 96 East Allendale Road in Saddle River. Attendees are encour- aged to bring blankets and chairs. Admission is free. Church to host Tailgate & Calypso Party The Church of the Presentation will host a Tailgate & Calypso Party on Friday, July 26 from 6 to 10 p.m. The church is located at 271 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. Music will be provided by Group Therapy. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs, food, and beverages. Bar- becue grills and blenders will be provided. The event will be held rain or shine. For more information, call (201) 327-1313. Robin Sloan to discuss book On July 24, Robin Sloan, author of “Mr. Penumbra’s 24- Hour Bookstore,” will discuss her book via Skype with the members of the Novels at Night book group. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Saddle River Library. All are invited. The library is located at 245 Lake Street. For more infor- mation, call (201) 327-2583. CareerWorks meets at Bergen Highlands Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church hosts the CareerWorks Catalyst Job Club on the first and third Sunday of the month. The group meets at 10:15 a.m. at the church located at 318 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. Members receive suggestions and direction based on individual employment or unemployment situations. The club is open to everyone. Registration is required. Call (201) 327-3960 or e-mail www.gbgm-umc.org/bergenhigh- lands to confirm that the group is meeting. Lions announce Golf Outing The Saddle River Valley Lions Club will sponsor a Golf Outing at Spook Rock Golf Course on Sept. 16. The day will feature food, golf, and prizes. Proceeds from these events will benefit charities that support the visually impaired and other local organiza- tions. This year, the club expects to reach the goal of $2,000,000. Visit www.srvlions.org for further information. Tennis permits available Tennis permits for the use of the Upper Saddle River Tennis Courts are now available at borough hall, 376 West Saddle River Road, and at the courts, which are located on West Saddle River Road in front of Reynolds School. Those who purchase permits at the courts should ask for Tennis Pro Sharron Mattiace. A family membership is $40 and an individual mem- bership is $25. All residents must have a permit and must display that permit on the new sign up board located at the entrance to the courts. For more information, con- tact the USR Recreation Department at (201) 327-3634 or USRRecreation@aol.com. Visit the borough website at www.USRtoday.org for information about all recreation programs. Library offers investment research center The Upper Saddle River Library now has Morning- star Online available to Upper Saddle River cardholders. This investment research center offers information on over 23,000 stocks and mutual funds. The program allows cardholders to download the user guide, view the online tutorial videos to learn more about the database and how to navigate particular features, and access the most-popular newsletters from mutual funds, stocks, and strategists. To access the program, visit www. uppersaddleriverlibrary.org. There is no fee for Upper Saddle River library cardholders. For details, call the library at (201) 327-2583. Council seeks accreditation grant (continued from page 3) discussed the possibility. Describing the accreditation process, Bole said profes- sionals visit a police department for an extensive evalua- tion that includes reviews of police procedures, bylaws, and promotion policies. He said the accreditation proce- dure is usually put out to bid, adding that an organization known as the Rogers Group generally conducts the evalu- ations. Bole said the entire cost of accreditation could be $35,000 to $39,000, and reported that Citro indicated that funds are available to cover the balance. In 2010, Ho-Ho-Kus resident Leo Strauss asked bor- ough officials to review what benefits could be realized by having the police department pursue national accredita- tion through CALEA. At that time, Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli told Villadom TIMES about the process his department followed in attaining accreditation, and outlined some of the related costs and benefits. At that time, Batelli said the department was paying $12,590 every three years, which included the approximate cost of the on-site assessment. Last week, Chief Batelli said that cost was still approx- imately the same. However, he said the savings on annual liability insurance premiums has increased from $7,000 three years ago to approximately $15,000. Accredited departments must have detailed, written policies and procedures for officers to follow. The atten- tion to this type of detail results in less successful negli- gence litigation within accredited agencies. Mahwah’s initial accreditation process took two years, and began with the department’s enrollment in the Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. The department then began its self-assessment, which included compliance with applicable standards, the development of proofs of compliance, and preparation for the on-site visit. CALEA then provided an initial visit during which trained asses- sors reviewed the department’s operations. Assessors examined recruiting procedures, manage- ment, security in the jail, how prisoners are handled, and how the department’s budget is produced. Members of the public are invited to participate in the process by making relevant statements, positive or nega- tive, about the department. Assessors ride with the officers, and the department must show proof that policy is being followed on a daily basis. While concerns have been raised about the cost and efficiency of having one police officer handle the respon- sibilities associated with accreditation, Mahwah has found an effective solution. Batelli said last week that his depart- ment previously had an accreditation manager who kept the department up-to-date so the reaccreditation process would run smoothly. In recent years, he said, the accredi- tation manager’s responsibilities were distributed to a number of officers and supervisors. “It has worked out well. Now eight or nine officers have input into the process,” Batelli said. J. CRUSCO