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 49
Student success
FEBRUARY 21, 2022
VALLEY CHABAD GOES FORTH
CTeen hosts officers; Eternal Flame back to D.C.
PARK RIDGE
SCHEPISI REPORTS AS RATE COUNSEL Mayor, BPW stung by councilʼs change to vetting process
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Talia Dian of River Vale earns dean’s list honors at the University of Tampa for fall ’21. SEE PAGE 12
MONTVALE
THREE
MINUTES AT THE MIC?
PVRHSD board seeks time reduction, ʻmending fencesʼ
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
Speakers would get three minutes at the public microphone, down from the current five if a Pascack Valley Regional High School Board policy change passes on second reading, Feb. 28. On Feb. 7, trustees voted, 7-2, to limit each speaker to three minutes per public comment period, saying the change — a loss of 40% of the time allowed now — could see more speakers speak, particularly at long meetings. Trustee Michael Weaver of the Policy Committee said three minutes is about the time required to read a page, or 450 words.
See MINUTES on page 254
W
Rabbi Yosef and Estie Oresntein, directors of CTeen at the Valley Chabad Center for Jewish Life on Overlook Drive, facilitated a Coffee With a Cop event on Feb. 10. Somehow, “axes” were thrown — but all in good fun.
BY JOHN SNYDER OF PASCACK PRESS
LAKE police officers took the Valley Chabad Teen Leadership Initiative up on its invitation to attend a recent CTeen event. On Feb. 10, the officers brought coffee and donuts and shared a bit of their stories, including what drew them to law enforcement, the unique challenges of the job, and their dedication to the departmentʼs mission. Part of the fun involved a series of competitions, including arm wrestling, cup stacking, and “axe” throwing. The teens also OODCLIFF
decorated mugs for the officers and later wrote them letters of appreciation. Rabbi Yosef and Estie Oresntein, directors of the CTeen group at the Valley Chabad CenVALLEY CHABAD PHOTOS
ter for Jewish Life on Overlook Drive, told Pascack Press on Feb. 15 that the event was to bring the students and department closer and to give the kids a chance to show their appreciation for all the officers do in the community. (The center and the police department get on quite well. Some readers might recall Orenstein delivered the invocation as John Burns was sworn in as police chief in 2019.) Officer Simon Sherfer, a 12-year veteran of the department, said he was greatly impressed with the teens at their visit.
Continued on page 11
A Feb. 8 council vote to name State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39) rate counsel for the boroughʼs Board of Public Works, which manages its water and electric utilities, has drawn ire from officials who object to sudden changes in the process used to fill the post. The 5-1 vote appointed Schepisi, of Schepisi Consulting and Law LLC, for a one-year term. Schepisi, of River Vale, is a longtime municipal and corporate attorney and has ranging legislative experience. At her first meeting with the board, on Zoom on Feb. 16, she echoed what she told Pascack Press days earlier: “I look forward to working with the Park Ridge Water Utility — and as with all my clients, my primary concern is representing my clientʼs vision and implementing whatever I am directed to do on their behalf.” At the same BPW meeting, members approved resolutions related to infrastructure improvements, discussed the timing needed to get a possible rate increase in front of the council for a hearing, and said they were working to identify a source or sources of wellwater contamination. Members acknowledged the unorthodox process by which Schepisi arrived, sought reassurance that she would not bill the borough for time spent getting up to speed on voluminous legal histories — she allowed that
See SCHEPISI on page 244
GO, FIREFIGHTERS!
B ck in time...
Leadership of the Pascack Valley Fire Chiefs Association passes to Park Ridge Volunteer Fire Chief Thomas Lepore.
Westwood High School’s young men and women dress for the occasion on a senior trip to Washington, D.C. — looking admirable before the U.S. Capitol Building — in spring 1934. SEE PAGE 4
SEE PAGE 14
