April 23, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 Midland Park High school gymnasium to get new seating Midland Park High School’s gymnasium will soon have new bleachers. The board of education at a recent meeting approved appropriating $75,000 from its 2012-13 extraordinary aid state allocation to replace the bleachers. It also approved decommissioning outdated wrestling mats from the gym. “As we did with the stands at the Stadium Field, we are replacing the gym bleachers to avoid a potential prob- lem in the near future. They have lived out their useful life, and the mechanism to expand and retract them is not working properly,” explained Board of Education Presi- dent William Sullivan. The new bleachers, manufactured by Interkal, will The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation has recognized the Midland Park Public Schools for its outstanding commitment to music education with a Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) designa- tion. The district joins 376 districts across the country to receive the prestigious distinction in 2014. In its 15th year, Best Communities for Music Education affirms school districts that have demonstrated exceptional efforts toward maintaining music education as part of the schools’ core curriculum. The BCME survey requires districts to answer detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making pro- grams. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Institute for Educational Research and Public Service of Lawrence, Kansas, an affiliate of the University of Kansas. “It’s no surprise to anyone in our district community that Midland Park has been so justly recognized by NAMM. The commitment of our amazing teachers, the support of our parents/guardians, the outstanding work of our stu- dents, and the critical guidance provided by our board and administrators has reaped amazing results in musical edu- cation.” said Superintendent Dr. Marie Cirasella. “The music department has been successful due to the passionate interest of the students, dedication of the teach- ers and staff, strong parental involvement and continued commitment and support of the board of education,” said Principal Nicholas Capuano. “This was evident in our recent performance of our school musical, “Young Fran- kenstein” and our scheduled band performance with the Ridgewood Concert Band in May.”. (continued on page 18) Music education efforts recognized Love Fund to benefit from yard sale The Community Yard Sale in Midland Park this Satur- day, April 26, will have a higher purpose: support of The Midland Park Love Fund. In its second year, the popular event, held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., encourages residents to display their trea- sures for sale on their front lawn, porch or garage and register with the town so their site can be listed on a map. Maps, showing the locations of all participants, as well as listings of the items available at each location, will be available at borough hall, distributed throughout the town and on the borough’s website two days in advance of the sale. Residents who do not register can put their items out for sale also; however, they will not be included on the maps. To be included on the map, registration forms and a fee of $20 must be received by Wednesday, April 23. The registration form is available at www.midlandparknj.org. Checks may be made payable to “Midland Park Children’s Love Fund” and dropped off at Midland Park Borough Hall, 280 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park NJ 07432. For more information, e-mail mprec@optonline.net. The registration fee is $20, with 100 percent of the money collected going to The Love Fund. This non-profit 501c3 organization was originally established in 1977 to help raise funds for medical bills incurred by a very ill child in town. It was re-established in 1985 to aid all fam- ilies with children in need at a time of crisis and continues to be a viable community organization. Also on Saturday, Operation Take Back will be under- way at the Midland Park Police Department. Residents can rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter drugs in a responsible and ecologically safe manner by taking them to Police Headquarters, 280 Godwin Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Syringes and other sharp instru- ments cannot be accepted. hold approximately 424 people. They will be of steel framing construction with resin-covered wood planking for seating. As further upgrading of the gym, The High School Athletic Boosters recently painted the walls and replaced the banner system at no cost to the district or taxpayers, Sullivan said. The existing bleachers date back to the late 1980s. At that time, the seating on two sides of the gym installed when the high school was built in 1957, was replaced with bleachers on one side, and the basketball court was shifted. The gym floor, which had been experiencing buckling issues, was replaced at that time as well.