COMMUNITY CALENDAR : ATTHELIBRARY

HEREʼS AROUNDUP of some of what our libraries are offering patrons in the next days and weeks. Thanks to Pascack Press interns Nick and Mitchell for the web research! Visit your library online or in person to get all the facts —and have fun getting involved!

E EMMEERRSSOON N 20 Palisade Ave. (201) 261-5604 emersonlibrary.org

•Monday, March 20 at 11 a.m.: Little Bookworms and Craft, ages 6 and under. At 1 and 3 p.m.: Knitters Circle, adults. At 3:30 p.m.: Afternoon Storytime, ages 2-5.

• Tuesday, March 21 at 11 a.m.: Baby & Me, newborn to 2. At 3:30 p.m: Switch Club, grades 2–4. Registration required for each child per date.

• Wednesday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m: Preschool Storytime & Craft, ages 2–5.

• Thursday, March 23 at 3:30 p.m.: Afterschool Craft, grades K–6. Registration required for each craft.

H HIILLLLSSDDAALLE E 509 Hillsdale Ave. (201) 358-5072 hfpl.org

• Monday, March 20 at 10:30

Burroughshonored

a.m., Jiggly Wiggly Childrenʼs Music Program At 4:30 p.m.: Girl Scouts 97667. At 7 p.m.: Highlights of The New York City High Line. Take a walk on The High Line with Mario Medici, amateur photographer and historian, and discover how the High Line was transformed from a historic elevated freight rail to one of New York Cityʼs most popular parks.

• Tuesday, March 21 at 4 p.m.: Reading Warriors Childrenʼs Book Club. Grades 5 and 6.

• Wednesday, March 22 at 3 p.m.: Think It, Make It, Share It: Weaving.

• Saturday, March 25 at 10 a.m.: NJ Makers Day Share what you make.

M MOONNTTVVAALLE E

12 Mercedes Drive, Suite 100 (201) 391-5090 montvalelibrarynj.org

• Adult Book Club meets the first Monday of the month at 10:30 a.m. or the second Monday of the

Letters:

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

Questioning developer on standards

To the editor: A S A PROFESSIONALENGINEER practicing in Bergen County and certified as a municipal engineer and also in flood hazard, I was surprised by the story about using LIDAR to determine drainage area (Do mall applicantʼs drainage basin calculations hold water?” Michael Olohan, March 13, 2023, Pascack Press) for a proposed strip mall in a single family zone Washington Township.

month at noon. Call George Galuschak at (201) 391-5090 or write george.galuschak@montvale.bccls.org and provide your name, telephone number, and BCCLS Library bar code number.

• Monday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m.: Montvale Cookbook Supper Club. “Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse food for the people you love” (2022) by Molly Yeh.

• Thursdays, March 23 at 10 a.m.: Chair Yoga taught by certified instructor Shelley Sontag. Increase strength and mobility using gentle, easy-to-follow movements. All skill levels are welcome. This is a virtual event, a Zoom link will be emailed to all participants the day before the event.

• Thursday, March 23 at 10:30 a.m.: Yoga Little Storytime. Join us with Bozza Yoga Littles and enjoy creative yoga poses, movements, and storytime fun! Meet friends, and improve hand-eye coordination and motor skills been USGS (United States Geologic Service) mapping.The USGS standard now used by NJDEP called Streamstats is more accurate than town tax maps or FEMA Firm maps because it delineates drainage areas, not just flood areas. Streamstats is easily available to anyone through the USGS website and takes minutes to use.

At stake is an important question. If a drainage basin is 50 acres or more, the NJDEP has jurisdiction over it as a “regulated water.” If the drainage basin is less than the cutoff of 50 acres, the NJDEP has no jurisdiction over the stream as a “regulated water.” According to USGS Streamstats that area appears to be 58 acres.

My question: Why is the developer requesting a different way to calculate this than the standard?

WESTWOOD

Bergen County Sheriff

Anthony Cureton and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office salute Robert R. Burroughs, former Westwood Chief of Police (1989–2002), as the closing highlight of Black History Month. Burroughs is the first African American chief of police in the history of Bergen County. He also holds the distinction as the first African American to hold the office of President for the Bergen County Chiefs Association (1996).

A man of strong faith, Chief Burroughs attributes his accomplishments to God. “I am truly blessed in order to attain what I did,” he said.

Curetonʼs office said, “We honor Chief Robert Burroughs for his trailblazing service to our Bergen County community.”

Westwood Mayor Ray Arroyo added his own view on Facebook on Feb. 28: “Our very own retired Westwood PD Chief Bob Burroughs — a history-making, glass- ceiling-breaking, trailblazing Westwood resident. A quiet, humble man of faith. And a true gentleman.”

Among those commenting on Arroyoʼs post:

• Barbara Maxwell Tobiassen: “Congratulations Chief Burroughs. A true gentleman who served with fairness and dignity.”

• Ray Wiss: “Always a man of class.”

• Bobbie Cozic: “Truly a man of integrity.”

•Jimmy Wagner: “A true gentleman, absolutely, I remember Mr. Burroughs helping us with rec football back in the day, a great community man, we all loved him!”

•PJ Sambogna: “Very good man. Thank you for serving our town with great distinction and honor from the residents of our beautiful Westwood.”

• John Kenny Domville: “Congrats Chief! Truly a man of honor.”

— John Snyder

For years I have worked on NJDEP Flood Hazard applications, and the standard has always

Considering the riparian buffer is important as well. Riparian buffer is calculated as through yoga! For children aged 18 months to 4 years. Registration required for each class.

• Thursday, March 23 at 7 p.m.: Secrets Wall Street Doesnʼt Want You To Know. (Virtual) After this program, you will learn about researching insurance and long term insurance, how not to get ripped off when buying/leasing cars, and investing on your own or properly interviewing financial planners to ensure that they are working for you and not the other way around.

• Saturday, March 25 at 12 p.m.: Benefits Of Using A Rain Barrel. Learn about the benefits of rainwater harvesting using a rain barrel. Installation, use, and maintenance. Presented by Green Mojo Eco Consulting. This in-person program takes place in the Library Activity Room. Registration required.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 explained in the NJDEP Flood Hazard Technical Manual, (available for free on the NJDEP websiteat nj.gov/dep/landuse/download/fh_044.pdf) depending on how valuable a stream is. Category 1 streams lead to reservoirs: our drinking water. Which is why they get the largest buffer of 300 feet to protect water quality. This stream flows to our reservoir, as shown on the USGS maps, and should still be considered a Category 1. I am concerned the USGS standard is not being used here. The Borough Engineer is raising questions of the developerʼs engineer regarding the use of a different technique to calculate drainage area. I would be too.

It may seem simple, but the answer is the difference between NJDEP protection of a “regulated water,” beloved local lake and our drinking water reservoir, or no protection at all.

Carol A. Hoernlein, P.E., M. ASCE, C.M.E. Emerson