THANK A VET
Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake VOLUME 24 ISSUE 35
AND ACTION!
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
NOVEMBER 16, 2020
PASCACK VALLEY
Valley turns out to honor servicemen, some of whom gave all
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
How PVHS student Evie Higgins landed a role in ‘The King of Staten Island.’ SEE PAGE 6
PASCACK VALLEY
U P - T IC KE T VIC TOR IES TAKE SHAPE Voters split tickets in Pascack Valley
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Pascack Valleyʼs voters turned out in high percentages for the highly contested Nov. 3 Presidential Election, with Washington Township voters topping our eight covered towns with slightly more than 77 percent turnout. With the caveat that the Board of Elections is still counting ballots and may not be done until Nov. 20, when County Clerk John Hogan must certify the election results, six of our eight Pascack Valley towns gave President-elect Joseph R. Biden a majority of votes, while two towns pulled overall for Donald J. Trumpʼs re-election bid. Most towns also gave slight majorities to other Democratic candidates at the top of the ballot. Washington Township and Borough of Emerson voters nar-
See VOTERS on page 154
Bells tolled and rifle fire cracked, and a gloomy rain threatened to break but kept a respectful distance. Towns and service organizations in the Pascack Valley, as elsewhere in the United States, paid their respects on Nov. 11 to the men and women who have served to keep America free—and the leading example of strength, courage, and honor worldwide. Veterans Day, initially Armistice Day, peals every Nov. 11 in the United States in honor of the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918, which marked the end of World War I. Here are highlights from Veterans Day 2020 in Park Ridge, Hillsdale, and the Township of Washington, whose observances we were able to note by press time:
Hillsdale Leading the boroughʼs ceremony were General Leonard E. Wood American Legion Post 162 members, notably Commander Doug Frank, past commanders Phil Langner and George DeRosa, Judge Advocate Kathy Maalouf, and the post honor guard. Frank said in part, “We are commemorating the service of veterans of all wars. We remember how men and women set aside
POWERFUL, POIGNANT: Sgt. Tim Barrett of Police Pipes & Drums of Bergen County plays Park Ridge’s Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11. Bugler Leo Ciccarelli and 100 others look on. their civilian pursuits to serve ing our precious American her- does not end with the terminatheir nationʼs cause, defending the itage.” tion of military service. We conHe said, “We recognize serv- tinue our endeavors on behalf of freedom of mankind and preservice to our country and her cause
TOP PHOTO BY JOHN SNYDER
Continued on page 22
PUMPKIN POWER!
B ck in time...
It’s sincerity as far as the eye can see as Demarest Farm comes through with more than 100 pumpkins for Hillsdale United Nursery School. SEE PAGE 39
River Vale, then and now, makes for a strong contrast. Kristin Beuscher takes us back to when everyone here knew each other.
SEE PAGE 4