Week in Review: Connolly Steps Down

Township officials and residents received a bit of a surprise this past week that will have a decided effect on Wyckoff's governing body going forward.

Six-year Committeeman Dave Connolly resigned his seat, which isn't set to expire until next fall. Connolly cited family and business concerns in explaining that it was time to step away from a role that most recently had him working on Wyckoff's budget. 

The governing body will soon welcome a new representative, once it votes on three candidates that will be submitted by the county GOP committee. That committeeperson will serve the remainder of Connolly's term.

Other items of note over the past week:

• The now four-member governing body held its third hearing on the Rambaut Lake dilemma, as homeowners look for financing to repair a dam that is on the Department of Environmental Protection's radar.

While nothing has been finalized, progress was made, with a majority of the lakefront homeowners indicating that they could possibly shoulder the responsibilities of a loan that the township would co-sign. Homeowners expect to meet soon to talk about re-forming a lake association, which is a condition the governing body has put on assistance.

• We checked back in with the folks at Grace United Methodist Church, who are continuing efforts to knit helmet liners for overseas troops.
• Patch visited the leader of Congregation Beth Chofesh, which occupies space at Bethany Church. The Messianic congregation purports to offer worship as it was in Biblical times, although its approach of merging Christianity and Judaism has its detractors.
• Devon Fine Jewelry held an "Opal Extravaganza" that offered expert information on the colorful gems while raising money for charity.
• We spoke with a former Olympian who joined another champion in visiting the Wyckoff Family YMCA this weekend, offering instruction to the Y's Sharks swim team.
• The Y was the place to be this week, as the facility also dedicated the Commons, a gathering place for seniors, or "active older adults," as the Y likes to say. The room is part of the Y's expanded offerings for seniors, offering a place for classes, recreation and more.
• The zoning board indicated that it will soon move to hearings on Christian Health Care Center's Vista project, which also is currently before the township's Shade Tree Commission. The first hearing will likely be in late October or early November at a neutral site.
• The school boards were busy, with the Ramapo Indian Hills board hearing from parents, students and graduates on the high schools' University Programs.

The community uniformly backs the continuation of the programs as they're currently run and are resisting a proposal to open three of six programs to any student as an elective. The RIH board is likely to vote on the proposal at its Sept. 27 meeting.

• The regional board also received word from the state that an administrative law judge's opinion striking down the district's conduct policy will stand. While the state Department of Education did not go as far as the judge in determining the policy was unconstitutional, the state did rule that it was unlawful.

The regional board was directed to revise its policy, but the district could appeal the ruling and hasn't yet made a determination on what course to take.

• The Wyckoff school board finalized its fee schedule for sports at Eisenhower Middle School, with parents being required to pay $125 per student, regardless of how many sports a student plays. 
• Additionally, the Wyckoff board decided to mount its search for a permanent superintendent without outside consulting help. 
• Motorists got a bit of bad news, as intermittent one-lane closures on Goffle Road for PSE&G work were extended to a double-lane closure starting Saturday. The utility company estimates it will have the road effectively shuttered until Wednesday evening.
• Columnist Gloria Johnson took a trip to local grocery stores to try and determine which has the best prices on beauty products.
• Columnist Allison Witkowski also warned against purchasing property without a real estate agent to help you navigate the often treacherous process.
• High school sports is back in full swing, and Patch was out for some exciting game action. We checked in with the Ramapo volleyball team, as well as the football team, boys soccer team and girls soccer team. All winners, of course. We also launched a scoreboard to stay updated on some of the other exciting high school action.

As always, please feel free to call me at 201-208-3349 or e-mail nick@patch.com if you have a story idea or just want to chat.