Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
VOLUME 25 ISSUE 31
EMERSON
AMBULANCE CORPS ASKS COUNCIL FOR AID
Wins promise of fixes for temporary headquarters amid redeveloper suits
OCTOBER 18, 2021
A JOURNEY SHARED Silver Award project a gift and solid service
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Inadequate facilities at a borough-owned house on Locust Avenue and the recreation center will be reconfigured and enhanced to allow personnel from the Emerson Volunteer Ambulance Corps to spend long day shifts or sleep overnight when necessary. So said Mayor Danielle DiPaola and Borough Administrator Robert Hermansen at the governing bodyʼs Oct. 5 meeting, after hearing from corps members on their issues with the status quo — including a decline in recruitment. “We are very open to helping all of you,” said DiPaola, who urged corps members to be the “squeaky wheel” and bring issues to the attention of the mayor and council. DiPaola said Emerson Volunteer Ambulance Corps (EVAC) members should work with DPW Director Perry Solimando to make the temporary facilities more amenable to their immediate needs. Hermansen said he was not fully aware, until the meeting, of the extent of concerns the boroughʼs volunteer ambulance corps had with their temporary facilities. Currently, ambulance rigs are being housed at the DPW headquarters, although no lockers are on site for personnel — and neither were showers nor cots provided, corps members said Oct. 5. The other temporary housing facilities on Locust Avenue and the rec center were provided when the former ambulance quarters, in the Block 419 redevelopment zone, was deeded to Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal for its 147-unit mixed use downtown project, which
See AMBULANCE on page 304
H
Hannah Foley of Montvale completed her Girl Scout Silver Award this summer: a boulder beaming out an uplifing message. The borough’s fourth-graders will get to update it every year. For the full picture, see inside. annah Foley has rocked her Girl Scout Silver Award. This is the highest award that can be attained by a Girl Scout Cadette, and it required more than 50 hours of dedication. Every minute paid off. Hannah has created a touchstone, mental health support, community art project, elementary school campus focal point, and self-renewing tradition, all in one. Just the right large rock, just the right message, PHOTO COURTESY FOLEY FAMILY
just the right arrangement of mums, and just the right location. And it came together at just the right time. In a world gone virtual, this is something real, she told Pascack Press on Oct. 12. “From family and friends and teachers, kids in my community as a whole, Iʼve just noticed people from, like, the loss of
Continued on page 15
PASCACK VALLEY
HELPING
EVERYONE VOTE EARLY River Vale, WCL sites take ballots from Oct. 23
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
This Saturday, Oct. 23, River Vale and Woodcliff Lake will host the first in-person early voting allowed in Bergen County under a 2021 state law that expanded early-voting opportunities. New Jerseyʼs early voting continues nine consecutive days, through Sunday, Oct. 31, and is available for all residents in the RELATED Garden Stateʼs 21 counties. • Vote! Mayor, council races Bergen County in the valley residents must — Page 3 vote in Bergen County. Also! School To p p i n g • the Nov. 2 bal- board races in the valley lot is a contest — Page 6 b e t w e e n Democratic incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy, with running mate Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, and challenger Republican Jack Ciatarelli, a businessman, with running mate former state Sen. Diane Allen. Voters statewide will weigh in on all 120 legislative seats, and many contested municipal council and school board races. The Bergen County Clerkʼs seat is up for reelection, contested between Democratic incumbent John Hogan and his Republican challenger, Bridget Kelly. River Vale Senior and Com-
See HELPING on page 294
ROCK THE BLOCK
B ck in time...
The Township of Washington’s Fall Festival sported a block party theme this year, delighting residents of all ages. SEE PAGE 14
Kristin Beuscher recalls the Westwood Theatre gracing Westwood Avenue from 1919 to 1943 at the eventual site of Gap and Tons of Toys.
SEE PAGE 4