FUN-RAISER
Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake VOLUME 24 ISSUE 31
TORCH RUN 2020
PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S BEST H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
OCTOBER 19, 2020
PARK RIDGE
Couple’s annual Halloween display draws chills for charity BY MATTHEW WIKFORS SPECIAL TO PASCACK PRESS
Local police departments do their part to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics. SEE PAGE 13
TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON
T OW N
EYES EMINENT DOMAIN
Ordinance vote Oct. 19 over intersection
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Should negotiations stall with owners of over a dozen pieces of property adjoining the Pascack Road-Washington Avenue intersection, the Township Council is eyeing eminent domain to acquire the properties at fair market value for the long-delayed intersection upgrade. A remote public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. on an ordinance to permit eminent domain. The ordinance was introduced unanimously Oct. 5 following the regular meeting and a closed session, without council or public comment. Informed sources told Pascack Press that the township is still in negotiations with most parties, but it appears the county has told local officials the project will be delayed until 2022 unless property is acquired
See EMINENT on page 154
Halloween has come early to 138 Ridge Ave., as skeletons, ghosts, tombstones, a mausoleum, a real hearse, and even a 10-foottall animatronic Grim Reaper decorate Matt and Paulina Kaprielianʼs property as part of their annual charity fundraiser. The display began about six years ago in New Milford and became a Park Ridge tradition two years ago, when the Kaprielians moved to the borough. The couple have collected for a variety of charities over the years, including St. Jude Childrenʼs Research Hospital and Michaelʼs Miracles. They said their charity of choice for their third fundraiser in the borough, Bruceʼs Legacy, hits close to home. The non-profit volunteer organization searches for and recovers drowning victims through the use of sonar and cooperation with local dive teams. On Aug. 10, Ryan Normoyle, a close friend of the Kaprielians, drowned on vacation in Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Dumont manʼs body was missing until Sept. 29 when Bruceʼs Legacy and Lake Tahoe authorities performed the lakeʼs deepest recorded recovery to retrieve him. Paulina Kaprielian, who teaches English at North Bergen High School, told Pascack Press,
MAKING LILY MUNSTER PROUD: 138 Ridge Ave., Park Ridge, comes to life, if you will, in homeowner Matt and Paulina Kaprielian’s expansive third annual Halloween charity display, going on through October. The couple and their cats love connecting for a good cause.
“No amount of money will ever thank Keith and his team enough for the work they do, but maybe it
TOP PHOTO BY KATE WARD
will help another family find the closure all families deserve through such a difficult loss.”
Although arranging a yearly Halloween display for charity has been a somewhat recent tradition
Continued on page 17
HILLSDALE HEARING
B ck in time...
Residents and business owners will weigh in on a proposed redevelopment plan for the 14-acre industrial area on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. SEE PAGE 26
Seasonal scenes: If you want to make a Pascack Valley native nostalgic, all you have to do is mention Tice Farms. Kristin Beuscher has more.
SEE PAGE 4