Page 2 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • September 11, 2013 Villadom Happenings Habitat for Humanity hosts Casino Night Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County will host a Casino Night fundraiser at Seasons Restaurant, 644 Pas- cack Road in Washington Township, on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Festivities will include a buffet dinner, dancing, music, and prizes. Last year’s event was so successful that Habitat Bergen has expanded the number of tables. Tickets are $55 per person. Proceeds from the event will benefit Habitat Bergen’s veterans’ housing initiatives. For tickets and information about event sponsorship and advertising opportunities, visit www.habitatbergen.org, call (201) 457-1020, or e-mail jaceyr@habitatbergen.org. Circus coming to town The Franklin Lakes Lions Club will bring the circus to McBride Field (across from the Market Basket) in Frank- lin Lakes on Sunday, Sept. 29. Performances will be held under the big top at 1, 3, and 5 p.m. Children of all ages will have the opportunity to see performances by clowns and aerialists, and trampoline and balancing acts. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Children age two and younger will be admitted free. The show will be held rain or shine. Tickets may be purchased at Cartridge World in the Stop and Shop Plaza, Super Deli Mart at 809 Franklin Avenue, and TD Bank at the Urban Farms Shopping Center. Attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets early as seating is limited. For details, call (201) 615-1369. Fall Craft & Art Street Fair set The Ridgewood Fall Craft and Art Street Fair will return to the village on Sunday, Sept. 22 from noon to 5 p.m. Over 145 exhibitors will be set up on East Ridgewood Avenue with handcrafted items, fine art, and photography. There will be a large children’s area with inflatables, pony rides, a petting zoo, games, and face painting. Festival food and music will also be available all day. The fair, which will be held rain or shine, is sponsored by Ridgewood Parks and Recreation and promoted by P.J.’s Promotions. For further information, call (201) 666-1340. Clothesline Project exhibit announced The 20 th Annual Bergen County Clothesline Project exhibit will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at “The Green” across from the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack. Guest speakers will include New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, and Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan. The special program featuring the speakers will begin at 1 p.m. This event is designed to raise awareness of the devas- tating impact violence has on the community. The exhibit will feature hundreds of T-shirts created by survivors of NBCUA proposes returning funds The Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority is considering returning half of the money from a bond reserve seven of the member municipalities believe is owed to them, but the affected towns are hopeful the full amount will be forthcoming as negotiations con- tinue. In a draft resolution sent to the member towns on Aug. 13 and scheduled for discussion and adoption at the NWBCUA Sept. 12 meeting, the commissioners propose to amend their 2013 budget by taking $800,000 from their “other reserves” account and applying it to a reduction in the annual service charges. The seven towns affected would each receive a cut in their fourth quarter payment to the authority proportionate to their user assessment. The mayors of the seven towns met last month to dis- cuss the proposal and were unanimous in their objec- tion to any reduction in the $1.6 million determined to be a fair refund. “Everyone is on board. We want back what we are entitled to,” said Waldwick Mayor Tom Giordano. “We’ve respected everything they’ve asked, but they are split 4-4. We want the money in our pocket.” The nine-member authority is short one member. Ironi- cally, Peter Dachnowicz , the Waldwick resident on the board, resigned earlier this year due to a relocation and a replacement has yet to be appointed by County Exec- utive Kathleen Donovan. “All the municipalities involved are in complete and total agreement that the full amount of $1.6 mil- lion should be returned, as we have already reduced the amount requested from the original $2.9 million,” said Waldwick Borough Attorney Craig Bossong. Waldwick took the lead in trying to recover the funds, initially personal violence, including sexual assault, domestic vio- lence, stalking, sexual harassment, and child abuse. Cre- ating shirts promotes healing by providing survivors with an avenue to break the silence of their victimization, and allows others insight into their personal experience. The event is hosted by healingSPACE at YWCA Bergen County (formerly the YWCA Rape Crisis Center) and the Bergen County Clothesline Project Committee. The day will include vendors and special performances. Visitors are invited to create their own shirts and pledge their support for the community’s anti-violence efforts. For more information, call (201) 881-1751 or e-mail heal ingspace@ywcabergencounty.org. Photojournalist to speak Join Photojournalist Linda Schaefer on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. as she shares her experiences in India with Mother Teresa. This program will be held at Saint Joseph’s Home, 140 Shepherd Lane in Totowa. The program is being pre- believed to be as much as $8 million, which had been placed by the original towns in the debt service reserve when the authority’s plant was built in 1965. The bonds matured last year, but rather than return- ing the money to the towns, the authority decided to use the money to fund current capital projects, to reduce annual charges to members and to offset future rate increases. According to the letter from NWBCUA Executive Director Mark Hurwitz which accompanied the draft resolution, the remaining funds, $798,983, will be placed in reserve to be applied to future rate stabiliza- tion in the 2015 and 16 budget years, “when significant service charge increases are projected,” the letter states. But Bossong pointed out that the authority has other surplus and reserves that it could draw from to create the stabilization fund. “Can the authority make a case for using the $800,000 better than the contributing communities? I think not,” said Midland Park Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan. “Even so, we have our financial needs, and it is our money not theirs,” he added. The original founding towns also object to late comers to the authority benefitting from the reserve fund without having contributed to its establishment. If the commissioners approve the resolution Thurs- day, the $800,000 would be distributed as follows: Allendale - $99,840 (12.48 percent); Ho-Ho-Kus - $41,360 (5.17 percent); Mahwah - $234,720 (29.34 per- cent); Midland Park - $70,800 (8.85 percent); Ramsey - $148,800 (18.6 percent); Waldwick - $104,160 (13.02 percent); and Wyckoff - $98,640 (12.33 percent). The other current member towns are Franklin Lakes, Ridgewood, Saddle River and Upper Saddle River. sented by the Auxiliary of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Schaefer will have signed copies of her book, “Come and See: A Photojournalist’s Journey into the World of Mother Teresa,” available for $20 each. Admission to the event is free. Wine and cheese will be served. (continued on page 22)