Freak Autumnal Storm Tops Headlines This Week

Much of the news dominating this week was the aftermath of the weekend's freak autumnal snowstorm.

If you follow on Twitter, you might remember me tweeting on Thursday that we've had snow before, it's no big deal. Whoops, wrong on that. It was definitely a big deal.

By Saturday night, an estimated 6,400 homes in Ridgewood were without power, . Tree branches buckled and toppled due to the weight of the snow on the leaves, which officials have said act as a "sail" of sorts when clumped with snow. By the end, it was disasterous – officials estimate the damage could be more than that of as the village waits to see what FEMA reimburses.

Some fared worse than others. Residents on Warren Place dealt with a live wire that not-so-graciously resulted in parking tickets. . The Streets Department worker is expected to be alright, but he did suffer injuries.

Residents in the Willard section of town had to wait until late Thursday night to receive power. They were with the delayed response, which officials said was . Willard School was closed Monday, Tuesday as a result, though and . It seems a good bet snowdays are likely to be made up in April or the summer.

The council also had some formative questions about the response to the storm, which jumped in intensity considerably between Thursday night and Saturday morning. Several council members said the response was shaky on some levels, . and where he was. Gabbert refused to answer.

The village has about 40 men working from the operations divisions clearing the streets of trees and debris. They ask that residents not put leaves out, as it makes the cleanup effort more difficult. It will take several weeks to clear, officials estimate. If some of the Irene cleanup is any indication, it could be longer than that. Many Willard-area residents said the village still hasn't cleared some of the Irene storm debris.

There were some other things of note as well this past week.

*The Ridgewood Village Council essentially told Fire Chief Jim Van Goor while keeping the old ladder truck.

*The , insiders tell Patch, might be the fastest controversial ordinance to make its way past the council gates. While some still fear big, stinky fast food coming to roost in Ridgewood, Village Planner Blais Brancheau says they probably wouldn't move in but Ridgewood would be able to bring in some of the businesses it's shut out over the past year or so.

*The thanks to a state grant.

*The Ridgewood Village Council held one of the final "H-Zone" meetings on Thursday. The meeting featured largely pro-Renewal speakers, but the big news is this – the council members are scheduled to issue their opinions on Nov. 22, the next meeting.

After that, a resolution will be drafted noting if the council will approve the planning board's ordinance as drafted, take no action or create its own ordinance that differs from the planning board's but is formed by "sound" zoning and planning principles. In other relevant hospital news, the state will determine the fate of rival Pascack Valley Medical Center on Nov. 29. Valley says reopening its Pascack neighbor would greatly damage medical care in the county.

*In sports news, the Lady Maroon runners grabbed the Bergen County Meet of Champions. The Ridgewood Boys Soccer team would a big states game over Roxbury, by the score of 2-1. The football team (4-4) drubbed Teaneck 41-0 on Tuesday, then came back on Saturday to cream Passaic, 49-0. Still, the playoffs look unlikely even after three straight victories