October 2, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 9 Area Township rated one of best NJ municipalities by Frank J. McMahon Mahwah has been rated one of the best towns in the State of New Jersey by NJ Monthly Magazine, which publishes bi- annual ratings of the state’s towns. The magazine ranks Mahwah, with a population of 26,128 in 2012, #26. Mahwah is in the top five percent of ranked towns in the state. Among the top 26 towns, Mahwah had the second lowest property taxes, the sixth lowest average property tax change since 2010, the fifth lowest effective property tax rate in 2012, the second lowest crime rate per 1,000 residents in 2011, and was tied for the fifth lowest violent crime rate per 1,000 residents in 2011. The township’s standardized test scores Ramsey Review Ramsey Reads to discuss ‘Rebecca’ Ramsey Reads, the town-wide book club, will discuss Daphne Du Maurier’s, “Rebecca” on Tuesday, Nov. 12 form 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. This romantic thriller finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her enigmatic new husband and learn- ing the story of the house’s first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnatu- rally devoted. Copies of the book are available at the cir- culation desk of the Ramsey Public Library, 30 Wyckoff Avenue. This program is open to Ramsey residents. For more information, contact the library at (201) 327-1445. Mad Science program set The Ramsey Community School’s Youth & Children’s Programs is offering Ramsey elementary students an afterschool enrich- ment class via Mad Science. Crazy Chem- Works is a follow-up to the PTO-sponsored Mad Science assembly each school enjoyed in late September. In the Mad Science program, students take on the role of junior chemists as they create and concoct with science. From super sticky stuff to the amazing dry ice capades, each class will take a journey through hands-on and amazing science. Classes will meet on Tuesdays from Oct. 8 through Nov. 19 at Hubbard and Tisdale schools. For more information, call (201) 785- 2300, extension 21701. The community school is located at Dater School, 35 School Street, Room 130 in Ramsey. Library to host Teen Café Ramsey students in grades six and up are invited to the Oct. 11 grand open- ing of Ramsey Library’s Teen Café pro- gram, which will be held from 3:15 to 6 p.m. with “cosplay.” Cosplay, or costume play, is dressing up as a character from a favorite book, anime, manga, or film. The library encourages G-rated costumes only. Participants may make a reservation to attend through the library’s website’s Event Keeper at www.ramseylibrary.org. The Teen Café program will continue each month with themed activities and snacks. On Nov. 15, the Teen Café will morph into “Kitchen Simple,” an afternoon of easy, make-your-own snacks. Space is lim- ited; be sure to register in advance. The Teen Café replaces Friday Frenzy, which enjoyed a six-year run at the library. Register online from the Teen Events tab at www.ramseylibrary.org. For more infor- mation, call (201) 327-1445 or e-mail ellen. okeefe@bccls.org. The Ramsey Public Library is located at 30 Wyckoff Avenue. Bocce tournament announced The Greater Ramsey chapter of UNICO National will host a Bocce Playoff on Sunday, Oct. 20. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the bocce courts located at the Ramsey Pool. The entry fee to join a team is $30 per person. The community is invited to donate to the event with a check, prize, or gift card. Sponsorship opportunities are also avail- able. For more information, contact Vin- cent Marella at (201) 327-7512. Proceeds from the event will ben- efit Ramsey UNICO’s charitable causes. Greater Ramsey UNICO conducts fund- raisers that benefit scholarships and local charities. This Italian-American service organization promotes Italian studies and the preservation of Italian heritage. Checks may be made payable to Greater Ramsey UNICO and sent to that organi- zation care of Steve Wekar, 505 Farview Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07050. Junior Woman’s Club plans meeting The Junior Woman’s Club of Ramsey will meet on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Ramsey Ambulance Corps Building at 41 South Island Avenue. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. New members are welcome. For more information about the club’s activi- ties, visit www.ramseyjuniors.com. Corps hosts ‘Night at the Races’ On Saturday, Oct. 5, the Ramsey Ambu- lance Corps will host a “Night at the Races/ Race for a Rig” fundraiser at Ramsey Ambulance Headquarters at 41 South Island Avenue. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for are $40. Proceeds will ben- efit the replacement fund for two of the corps’ ambulances that are approaching retirement date. A fully-equipped vehicle costs more than $190,000. The evening will include dinner, bev- erage, interactive horse racing activities, prizes, and a special auction. Race winners will receive race tickets for valuable prizes. Attendees will receive a race program with sponsor advertising. Opportunities to sponsor races are avail- able at $100, and individual horses at $25. Sponsors are entitled to name their race or horse. Donations of prize items are needed. To purchase tickets or become a sponsor, contact Dee at dduncan@ramseyambulance. org or (201) 803-6387. This year marks the corps’ 60 th Anni- versary of serving Ramsey. The indepen- dent, not-for-profit organization is staffed by trained volunteers. Membership is open to individuals 16 and older. Training and certification are provided. Call Laura Beh- rmann (201) 341-1243 or e-mail membershi p@ramseyambulance.org. for students in grades four through eight ranged between 86 percent proficient on the fourth grade test and 95 percent proficient on the high school proficiency test. “This statewide ranking marks a day of pride in our community,” stated Mayor Wil- liam Laforet. “It is assessments like these that bring light to the fact that Mahwah is a desirable and premier place to live in New Jersey. “There is more work to be done, but we are in a good place, all with one goal in mind and that is making Mahwah a great place to live.” The rankings list the top 100 towns and the best towns by region, size of population, and for three different life stages. The 2013 rankings are based on the most recent avail- able data for home prices, property taxes, crime rates, school results, and various life- style attributes. All of that data is combined using a proprietary formula to create the overall rankings of New Jersey municipali- ties. The rankings were compiled by research- ers at Leflein Associates, an independent research firm based in Ringwood, and considered five categories to represent the quality of life in New Jersey’s 566 munici- palities: home values, property taxes, crime rates, school performance, and a lifestyle factor, which was described as the top towns for young families, singles, and empty nest- ers (parents whose children have moved out of the house). The top town in the state was Mend- ham Borough; the top town for singles was Hoboken; the top town for young families was Oakland, and the top town for empty nesters was found to be Monroe. Besides Mahwah the Bergen County towns ranked in the top 26 towns in the state are Norwood, #4; Woodcliff Lake, #6; Tenafly, #7; Demarest, #8; Oakland, #15; Paramus, #21; Ho-Ho-Kus, #23, and Old Tappan, #24. Due to a lack of statistically significant data, towns with a population of under 1,500 were dropped from the survey. The research team then ranked each of the remaining 514 towns based on the fol- lowing indicators: average residential tax bill in 2012, the change in average prop- erty tax bill from 2010 to 2012, the effec- tive property tax rate for 2012, the median home sales price in 2012, the change in median home sales price from 2010 to 2012, the total crime rate in 2011 combined with a score for violent crime rate in 2011, and student proficiency on state-mandated stan- dardized tests in 2012. The researchers also looked at lifestyle factor, which includes the number of acute-care hospitals and live per- forming arts theaters within 10 miles of the municipality’s main zip code, the number of full-service restaurants within two miles of the municipality’s main zip code, and the average commute time for those working away from home. Final rankings were based on each municipality’s combined rankings for 10 indicators across the five categories with extra weight given to the change in average tax bill, the change in median home sales price, and the results on standardized tests for students in grades four and eight.