Week in Review: Oradell Budget Introduced, REEF is Revitalized

With decreases in revenue and an , Oradell was faced with a difficult budget season but finally introduced is 2012 Municipal budget on Tuesday night. The $13.53 million budget calls for a $10.59 million tax levy which falls at the state mandated 2% tax levy cap. Taxpayers will see a $167 hike this year.

Created in 1998, it's been years since the River Edge Education Foundation (REEF) has been active at the borough's public schools but behind the efforts of Jennifer Goswami and Ray Gant, the organization has been revitalized with a renewed focus.

Over the weekend, runners from across town, Bergen County and around the country took to the streets of River Edge in the 31st Annual River Edge Run. The event reached a new record this year with 694 participants while raising money towards a new playground area near the Little League fields and for the  Susan Fazio Foundation for Melanoma Research  in memory of . Team Farrell clad in green t-shirts for the run raised $17,476 for Melanoma Research.

, hosted by New Milford's Alexa DeMiglio and River Edge's Amanda Walker, drew a large crowd to Conlon Hall in Bergenfield on Friday evening. The concert, a fundraiser to aid Haitian children, some who were orphaned by the 2010 earthquake and some whose parents cannot take care of them, was sponsored by the New Milford Boosters. The concert featured performances by The Nerds and Shaved Ham.

For the past few months, students at River Dell have been busy bringing home awards for various accomplishments. On Monday night, the  honored those students during a Student Recognition.

Following the March release of Kony 2012 on Youtube, this year's group of confirmation students from were spurred to bring awareness to River Edge about the plight of the Invisible Children in Uganda. As part of their Corporal Works of Mercy project for confirmation on May 6, the River Edge freshman from  and , spent an evening bringing awareness to area residents.