SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — interACT Theatre Productions presents the hilarious spoof “The Complete Works of Williams Shakespeare (Abridged)” this April at the Baird Center in South Orange. The cast and crew, led by director Christine Gaden of Millburn, are excited to perform the comedic, fast-paced romp for two weekends starting Friday, April 1, and closing Sunday, April 10, for a total of six performances.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees begin at 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.interactproductions.org/completeworks. This is a special Pocket Theatre and Bard at the Baird presentation, and the company plans for this to be the first of an annual Shakespeare tradition.

Just three male actors make up the cast — Erik Gaden, Christopher Clark and Andrew Usher — so there are many costume changes — and lots of wigs! — between them during the show. Gaden and Clark return to the interACT stage, but this marks an interACT debut for Usher, who makes a performance comeback after taking a hiatus these last few years.

The play, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, takes you on a wild ride through the Bard’s 37 plays in under two hours, jumping from “Romeo & Juliet” to “Titus Andronicus” to “Othello” and “Julius Caesar” — and that’s just part of the first act. And in addition to the famous Shakespearean dialog, this show has improv, rapping, choreography and audience participation.

This specific production may include strobe lights, stage violence, vulgar language, and other adult content or situations, and is not recommended for audience member under the age of 13.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange Historic Preservation Commission’s role in local affairs has been clarified thanks to an ordinance passed on final reading by the Board of Trustees at its March 14 meeting.

Ordinance No. 2016-09, approved with a 5-0 vote — Trustee Jeffrey DuBowy was absent — supersedes and replaces ordinances No. 2012-09 and No. 2012-16 with regard to the formation and responsibilities of the HPC.

Trustee Mark Rosner, who serves as the board’s liaison on the HPC, said there were no significant changes to be made, but that the language was re-written to be clearer and to solve any issues of inconsistency.

The HPC was first formed in 2012 while the debate was raging over the Marylawn of the Oranges property. The Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, the owners of the Marylawn buildings and property on Scotland Road, had been planning to demolish the structures, as they could no longer keep their school and convent operational due to financial constraints. There was a backlash from residents who demanded the buildings be saved due to their historical significance. Today, the buildings are still standing though they require significant renovations to make them fit for occupancy.

HPC attorney William Sullivan explained that, with the unfolding the Marylawn issue and a recent issue regarding an application to the South Orange Zoning Board for a subdivision on the corner of Kingman Road and South Orange Avenue, the commissioners realized there were some inconsistencies and a lack of clarity in the language of the original ordinances.

“With both of those events taking place, it became clear to a lot of us that the ordinance needed some work, that there were ambiguities in the ordinance, that there were some internal inconsistencies and there were some gaps that we really needed to fill,” Sullivan said at the March 14 meeting.

Sullivan explained that these inconsistencies became an issue when it came to the previously mentioned appeal for the subdivision on Kingman and South Orange Avenue. It was discovered that the initial two ordinances contained contradictory language regarding certificates of appropriateness.

“The Zoning Board granted the appeal on narrow procedural grounds: that Section 3 of Ordinance 2012-16 superseded Ordinance 2016-09,” HPC Chairman Gary Hill told the News-Record earlier this week via email. “That is, they read Section 3 as required a certificate of appropriateness for subdivision only from ‘key contributing’ properties in the Montrose historic district, not from merely ‘contributing’ properties.

“Ordinance 2012-09 required a certificate of appropriateness for subdivision from all properties in the historic district,” Hill continued. “Thus the HPC should not have required a certificate of appropriateness from this property, which is only a ‘contributing’ property. In their discussions during the hearing the (Zoning Board members) did not otherwise agree with the applicant’s contention that our considerations regarding lot size, etc., were inappropriate; however, their resolution rested on the above narrow procedural ground.”

The new ordinance clears this up, with very precise language clarifying which properties require a certificate of appropriateness.

Sullivan also said the commissioners had been hoping this newest ordinance would expand the scope of the properties subject to the certificate of appropriateness review to include the contributing properties in Montrose; however, it does not.

Hill explained that the proposed change, which was ultimately not included, would have preserved more properties in the Montrose district.

“We wanted to expand the scope of properties because we wanted to protect Montrose historic district in its entirety, not just a few key houses,” Hill said.

“I think that while it’s fair to say some members of the commission are concerned about that change, we do feel that it is very important to move forward with the ordinance with the correction and the cleanup we’ve done because of the issues that have arisen and may arise if we continue to operate now,” Sullivan said March 14, adding that the commissioners are “happy that the ordinance is in the condition it’s in now.”

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Gallery 103, located at Geralyn’s Art Studio, 103 Baker St. in Maplewood, will be exhibiting South Orange resident Florence Weisz’s artworks in a solo show, “Sensuous Stripes,” from April 3 through May 5. On view will be art that is all about stripes: 2D and 3D collages, a site specific wall installation and an interactive collage that encourages viewer participation.

A reception for the artist, free and open to the public, will be Thursday, April 7, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Everyone is invited to wear their own favorite striped clothing and an informal striped fashion show is planned. Though inspired by Girls Night Out, the event includes everyone — men, women and children wearing stripes.

For more information on Weisz and this show, visit http://florenceweisz.com/portfolio/stripes.html.

Photo Courtesy of JLOSH
JLOSH President Christina Connant of Short Hills and her daughters express their thoughts on volunteering and how it makes them feel at the fourth annual Kids For Kids event organized by JLOSH.

MILLBURN, NJ — Proving that little hands can make a big difference, more than 120 children, in addition to 40 Girl Scout members, 100 parents and 50 Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills members took part in the fourth annual Kids For Kids, which is a children’s volunteer event organized by JLOSH in partnership with 35 organizations.

Together, they collected more than 200 toiletry bags, 55 grocery bags, 200 dental bags and 100 camping bags for children in need. In addition, attendees helped decorate a beautiful mural that will be displayed on the pediatric floor of St. Barnabas Hospital. On top of that, 22 no-sew blankets for St. Barnabas were also assembled.

The volunteer event took place at the George Bauer Community Center in Taylor Park in Millburn on Saturday, March 12. In addition to collections and assembling of various bags, children were able to decorate “Send A Smile” note cards and nutritional placemats for food pantry customers, and learn about eco-literacy, dental hygiene, nutrition basics and more. Attendees also participated in a photo booth that captured explanations of why volunteering is important and how it made them feel.

“What a joy to watch our members, neighbors and partners at this year’s Kids For Kids event work together and set positive examples of giving back to the community for our littlest volunteers,” JLOSH President Christina Connant of Short Hills said in a release. “We are women building better communities, and together we continue to make a real impact by providing essential basic items for children in need.”

The event also marked the annual JLOSH Littlest Volunteers contest for children in grades one through five living in the towns of East Orange, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Orange, Short Hills, Springfield, South Orange and West Orange. To further promote volunteerism, winners will be awarded a prize of $100 to put their good ideas to work to help their community. Entry forms can be found on JLOSH’s website www.jlosh.org.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Seton Hall University’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures invites the community to Japan Week 2016 from Monday, April 4, through Friday, April 8. Japan Week gives participants the opportunity to build a bridge between cultures that will enable the sharing of knowledge and experiences of Japan through lectures, symposia, workshops, events and awards. The events are free and open to the public.

Now in its 18th year, Japan Week seeks to foster a greater understanding of Japan and its people. It is the university’s hope that participants will become leaders in a flourishing dialog between Japan and the United States and will work toward building a more peaceful global community, according to a press release from the school

The Seton Hall University Japan Week 2016 schedule is as follows:

Schedule for Monday, April 4:

• 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. — SHU-Japan Exchange Program, participants will report their experiences with the SHU-Japan Exchange Program during summer 2015; this event is hosted by professor Maria Bouzas, director of the Office of International Programs, in Beck Room.
• 10:30 to 10:55 a.m. — Japanese Language & Digital Storytelling Awards Ceremony. The Japanese Program announces its best and most motivated learners of the Japanese language and through the Digital Storytelling Awards. Awards will be presented by Dean Christopher Kaiser and professor Michael Stone, director of Language and Resource Center, in Beck Room.

Schedule for Tuesday, April 5:

• 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. — A Hanko, or Japanese seal, making workshop. Participants will make their own Hanko seal. The first 40 participants will receive Hanko-making kits. Participants must provide original designs for their stamp. This is hosted by professor Shigeru Osuka, Japanese Program, in Beck Room.
• 5 to 7:30 p.m. — Japan Week Movie Night: “Sugihara Chiune” will explore the life of the Japanese diplomat who was appointed in a vice-consul and later a consul in Lithuania, and saved more than 6,000 Jewish lives by issuing transit visas during the outbreak of World War II. The film will be screened in Beck Room with light refreshments.

Schedule for Wednesday, April 6:

• 10 to 10:45 a.m. — Remembering the fifth anniversary of the March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Dr. Shigeru Osuka examines the relief effort for the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal areas of the Tohoku region in 2011. This event, hosted by campus ministry, will be in Fahy Hall 236. Prayers of intercession will be provided by Rev. Nicholas Figurelli, associate director of campus ministry.
• Noon to 1 p.m. — Experience Kendama, a traditional Japanese toy with three cups and a spike that fits into the hole in the ball. All participants will receive prizes at this event hosted by the Asian Studies Association and held in the Pirate’s Cove in the university center.

Schedule for Thursday, April 7:

• 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. — Haiku and Japanese calligraphy workshop. Participants will learn how to express feelings through haiku and calligraphy. This event, held in Beck Room, is hosted by professor Hiroko Ishikawa, Japanese Program.

Schedule for Friday, April 8:

• 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. — The 19th annual Graduate Student & School Teacher Symposium on Japanese Studies in Fahy Hall 129. Eight graduate student papers will be presented. The Keynote Speech, “Learning and Teaching Second Language Pronunciation: Creative Applications of Technology in Language Classrooms,” will be given by Dr. Tomoko Shibata, Department of East Asian Studies, Princeton University. The event will include a memorial gathering for the late professor Gary S. Andrasko at 11:30 a.m.

For more information about Japan Week 2016, contact Japan Week Director Shigeru Osuka at 973-275-2712 or orosukashi@shu.edu, and visit the website here.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Thanks to the approved use of banked cap, the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education was able to save four elementary school faculty positions, but big staffing reductions are still coming to Columbia High School.

On March 21, the BOE passed the $125 million school budget on first reading with an 8-1 vote, with board member Johanna Wright being the sole dissenter. The board also passed a resolution allowing the district to use the $409,103 in banked cap in a 7-2 vote, with Wright and board member Donna Smith voting against it. Smith said she was “voting against there being no other option.”

With revenue sources such as local taxes, state and federal aid and programs, debt service, tuition, fund balance, and capital reserve — and now the addition of banked cap — district business Administrator Cheryl Schneider said the proposed revenue for the 2016-2017 school year is $125,740,404, which is $2,145,624 more than that of the current school year.

Under state law, local taxes cannot increase more than 2 percent for the operating budget. This of course leaves the frequently used loophole that it can exceed the 2-percent cap for other areas of the budget.

At a 2-percent operating budget, the tax levy cap would be $111,317,574, but with the added debt service of $3,844,298 and the banked cap, that percentage bumps up to 2.43, according to Schneider. At this estimate, based on 2015 figures, the average Maplewood household would pay approximately $226 more per year in taxes, while the average South Orange household would pay approximately $249 more, though Schneider explained in February that these numbers would likely equalize after the appeals process. According to the district, the average Maplewood home will be paying approximately $15 more per year than the 2-percent cap and the average South Orange home about $18 more per year.

Earlier in the budget process, Superintendent John Ramos had said that using the banked cap would be a “painful option” for the district, as it would add to the operating budget — an addition that would likely need to be maintained the following year without that banked cap on which to rely. The $409,103 of banked cap from the 2013-2014 school year, if the board had not decided to use it, would have disappeared after this year, as there is a three-year limit on banked cap.

Despite raising taxes and using banked cap, there are still some drastic staffing cuts coming. While the district had originally been discussing cutting 19 or 20 staff members, the banked cap was able to save some of those jobs, specifically at the elementary school level. Nevertheless, the district is planning to reduce its workforce by 15 positions.

At the districtwide level, two supervisors and one secretary will be cut, while a learning disabilities teacher consultant is being added to deal with increased special education referrals; this leaves a district net reduction of two positions. At the elementary school level, one instructional coach is being cut, but three classroom teachers and one special education teacher are being added, leaving the elementary level with a net increase of three positions. At the middle school level, two teachers and one media specialist are being cut, with one behavioral specialist being added; this leaves a net reduction of two positions at the middle school level.

And, at the high school, there will be no additions, just a net reduction of 14 positions, including nine teachers, one guidance counselor, one media specialist, one dean and two deans’ secretaries.

At the March 21 meeting, several residents came out to oppose the cutting of the two library media specialists, including Janet Clark, president of the New Jersey School Librarians Association; Janine Poutre, a library media specialist at Marshall School; and Elissa Malespina, a former librarian at South Orange Middle School.

An online petition to “Save the SOMSD School Libraries,” now closed, managed to garner 726 signatures. Additionally, the American Library Association sent a letter to the board decrying the proposed library media specialist cuts and encouraging the district to look for other options.

Many residents also criticized the reduction of so many teachers, saying that this will negatively impact education at the middle and high school levels.

None spoke more vehemently, however, than Nina Kambili, the non-voting student representative to the board.

“I’m obviously just extremely dissatisfied with this,” Kambili said, saying her dissatisfaction stems from the fact she does not believe those making the budget decisions truly know what happens inside the schools on a day-to-day basis. She wanted more consideration of what the schools and students need, as opposed to administrators. She wanted to know why the district is supporting “this bloated administrative structure that we’re spending so much money on, but we’re cutting teachers.”

An online petition calling for the district to “Cut Costs Don’t Cut District Teachers” has 137 supporters.

Not everyone was displeased with the staff cuts though. Donna Upton, co-president of the Seth Boyden PTA, praised the board and district for “making hard but necessary choices.” The approved banked cap will be used to restore two academic intervention specialists to Seth Boyden, a focus school with a high population of students who need free or reduced lunches.

Nevertheless, many appeared disheartened by the concessions made to keep taxes from rising beyond the legal limit.

Board President Elizabeth Baker encouraged everyone who had come out to oppose the cuts to join the board and the district in the future as they lobby in Trenton for increased state aid, saying that the SOMA schools do not receive a fair level of funding when compared with other New Jersey districts. While school districts across the state are working to change this, the change does not appear to be happening quickly enough to protect foundering districts.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Pictured are Meals on Wheels client Shirley Klein, left, with her puppy and South Orange Village President Sheena Collum. Collum delivered meals Klein and other older adults in South Orange on March 29 in celebration of SAGE Meals on Wheels 50th anniversary and Meals on Wheels America’s “March For Meals” campaign, which is coordinated by SAGE Eldercare in Summit. On a daily basis, SAGE volunteers deliver meals and check in on approximately 120 older residents in parts of Union, Essex and Morris counties. For more information on the program, call 908-273-5554 or visit www.sageeldercare.org.

Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Kresch

The map above shows the Special Improvement District expansion, which includes 25 commercial properties. The expansion was approved on final reading at the March 14 Board of Trustees meeting.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Following earlier village plans, the Special Improvement District in South Orange Village Center has been expanded to include 25 additional commercial properties. These properties will now fall under the South Orange Village Center Alliance’s purview and pay an assessment to help fund the SOVCA.

At the March 14 Board of the Trustees meeting, Ordinance No. 2016-10 was passed on second and final reading by a 5-0 vote, with Trustee Jeff DuBowy absent. It had previously been passed Feb. 22 on first reading with a 5-0 vote, with Trustee Deborah Davis Ford absent.

This newest ordinance amends Ordinance No. 2012-01, which was passed on second and final reading March 12, 2012, to create the SID. That ordinance also created the SOVCA, a nonprofit, to manage the SID.

In January, SOVCA Executive Director Bob Zuckerman and Chairman Matt Glass gave a lengthy presentation to the BOT about the SOVCA budget and laid out the rationale for expanding the SID.

In his statements to the board and in a letter sent to all property owners whose land would fall into the expansion zone, Zuckerman extolled the benefits of being included in the SID.

“We strongly believe that, with the advent of the new development that is coming to our area as well as development that is being proposed, now is the right time to expand our district to include these properties so that they too can receive the same benefits from being in the SID that the rest of our district receives,” Zuckerman wrote in the letter to property owners, a copy of which he provided to the News-Record.

Among the benefits listed in the letter were cleanliness of the area, marketing, streetscape improvements, business recruitment and retention, and support and advocacy.

In his letter, Zuckerman also explained how the SID and SOVCA are funded. In the 2015 operating budget, which came in at $287,875, Zuckerman explained that 22.3 percent came from the special assessments collected from SID property owners. Approximately 55.6 percent came from BOT funding, with the rest coming from special events, corporate sponsorships and private donations.

He further explained that each property paid 49 cents per $100 of valuation; for example, a property assessed at $5,000,000 would pay an annual fee of $245 to the SID.

“We can say that larger properties with higher assessed values would certainly pay a higher assessment than smaller properties with much lower assessed values. Properties that are completely residential are exempt from paying an assessment,” Zuckerman wrote in the letter.

Zuckerman also assured the trustees that all property owners in the expansion zone had been notified of the coming change. The executive director had brought with him a staff of certified mail receipts, showing that his letter to property owners had been delivered and received.

“I’m 100-percent confident that we reached all the stakeholders,” Zuckerman said March 14.

And many future SID members seem excited by the prospect.

Maplewood resident Deborah Engel, owner of Work and Play on Prospect Street in South Orange, wrote a letter supporting the expansion and SOVCA’s work, which was read aloud in part at the meeting by Zuckerman; a copy was sent to the News-Record by Engel.

“My business currently falls just outside the alliance’s border, but I have seen firsthand the benefits of their support and the disadvantages for not being part of the alliance,” she wrote, explaining that, as her business was not previously included in the SID, she was not asked to participate in SOVCA events and initiatives.

“As a business striving to create a community for parents trying to balance work, life, kids and careers, we long to be part of the greater South Orange community,” Engel wrote. “But right now, we feel more like the last child picked for the team in P.E. class, as we are not currently include in townwide events and business district planning — unless we find out about them and ask to be included.”

Engel also stressed that the relationship would be symbiotic, with participating businesses contributing much to the community through their participating in village events and initiatives and through helping to build a thriving and welcoming downtown.

But not everyone supports the change. Nick Ciopettini, president of South Orange Storage on Valley Street, which will now be in the SID, spoke at length at the March 14 meeting opposing the ordinance. While speakers are usually limited to three minutes, President Sheena Collum allowed Ciopettini to speak for more than 12 minutes, as he explained that he was there representing several business owners who had been unable to attend.

“I know enough not to stand in the way of progress, but I also have to come out and stand up for my business,” Ciopettini said during the ordinance’s hearing. The business owner explained that, while the assessment he would be paying to the SID would be “small,” it is too much when added to other increasing costs, such as health care, utilities and insurance. “Yes, the special assessment is small, but when you add all those things together, it’s like the straw that’s breaking the camel’s back.”

Ciopettini said that it is not feasible for him to raise rates as that would drive potential customers to other moving and storage companies. He sees being included in the SID as a lose-lose for him and similar businesses, which he claimed will not see any benefits to being included in the district.

“There are benefits to being in a SID and if my business was in the downtown, were a restaurant or retail store, it might make sense,” he continued, saying that events like “breakfast with the Easter bunny” do nothing for a storage company.

At the end of his long and researched speech, Ciopettini told the trustees: “I apologize for taking too much of your time, but you’re taking my money.”

Despite Ciopettini’s impassioned plea for a reprieve, the board members still felt that expanding the SID would be in the town’s best interest, and many responded to Ciopettini personally.

“Sometimes things aren’t necessarily always on the first blush fair and equal,” Trustee Stephen Schnall told Ciopettini, citing the fact that residents pay for the school district, regardless of whether they have children enrolled. “In the case of the Village Alliance, they have proven themselves to be very financially responsible.

“I’m very in favor of this ordinance.”

Trustee Mark Rosner pointed out that it had always been the village’s intent to expand the SID in increments and that the benefited property owners outnumber the property owners who feel they are being harmed. He said that not everyone benefits, “but they’re in the community and we can’t pick and choose and say, ‘OK, this one is out.’ We have to look at the zone as a whole.”

Davis Ford, who was staunchly in favor of expanding the SID, told Ciopettini that she understood the challenges he was facing, “but when you’re part of a community, there are sometimes indirect benefits.”

“The value is that this is for the overall improvement and aesthetics for our community, so if these decisions weren’t made and South Orange were not appealing in the aesthetics and the looks of it, many people may not want to come and do business in South Orange,” she said. “It is important to accept the indirect benefits, even if you are in a storage facility.”

Collum advised Ciopettini to work with the SOVCA to get maximum benefit from it. While she allowed that Ciopettini’s business will not benefit from every alliance program and event, she reminded him that the SOVCA can still help him with marketing and can work to bring in more business for him.

Collum also reminded all present that, while the BOT moved forward with the SID that night, the SID’s five-year review is coming up in January 2017, at which time everyone is encouraged to contribute their thoughts on the changes in the downtown.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The village held a public hearing March 21 regarding the 10-year operations and maintenance contract it will be entering into with New Jersey American Water, which will be providing South Orange’s water instead of the East Orange Water Commission beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

The village made the decision to switch from the EOWC to NJAW after a series of issues with the current water provider. Not only has South Orange’s water quality been called into question several times, but EOWC officials were indicted for falsifying test results.

The village is going with NJAW, the largest water provider in the state; according to village attorney Steven Rother the company met the village’s criteria better than any other proposer. According to the March 21 presentation, the selection criteria included a history of managing systems of at least 7,000 metered services; a history of regulatory compliance; a demonstrated understanding of the village’s system; experience; reputation; financial strength; price, and responsiveness of the Request For Proposal.

Finding a water provider that could provide quality water while staying on the right side of the law was highly important to the village, especially in light of the issues with the EOWC.

“We are painfully aware of the importance of having a good operator to run your system given the recent experience,” village Administrator Barry Lewis Jr. said.

Village officials stressed that the village will retain ownership of its water system, with NJAW only maintaining and operating it. According to Rother, NJAW will take care of day-to-day maintenance issues and any capital improvement projects will be paid for based on a specific schedule of costs, which will be part of the final contract. Lewis added that the proposed contract with NJAW is similar to the current contract with the EOWC as the village is not reconstituting a water department and will not be hiring personnel to oversee water operations.

“In that fashion, we are not paying for some anticipated costs that may not incur,” Rother said, adding that after three years, the village has the option to sell the water system.

Pricewise, Rother explained that there will be two phases to the contract. Phase I will include a one-time fee of $345,099, necessary to ensure a seamless transition on New Year’s Day 2017 and to make sure that everything is ready for the conversion from the EOWC to NJAW. Rother said the necessary pumping system and interconnections needed to switch water providers was covered in a separate contract, and NJAW and the village are already working on that.

Phase II pays $62,158 per month to NJAW to operate, control and maintain the system; provide daily inspections and maintenance of above-ground assets; perform leak detection on 20 percent of the village’s mains annually; test and inspect all hydrants with one-third to be flushed annually and at least 120 to be painted each year; inspect and exercise 20 percent of all valves annually; inspect and exercise the generators monthly; and perform meter readings and billing services.

“Every five years, every main will get (inspected),” Lewis said. “That is something that has been sorely lacking with East Orange Water. Quite frankly, it didn’t really cost us; it cost East Orange. But we know from the data they provided that there is an enormous amount of water lost somewhere, so we hope that through this program we’ll be able to tighten that up.”

Lewis added that, with every valve being inspected and exercised within every five years, the village will again see an improvement from East Orange Water, which, according to Lewis, gravely neglected the valves, leaving them unable to locate broken valves. Lewis said he looks forward to the “collaborative” relationship that he believes the village and NJAW will enjoy.

“We are very confident that, literally at midnight on Dec. 31 this year, everything will switch over and nobody’s going to know,” Lewis said. “The water will still flow; it will be softer. It’s going to be a real seamless transition.”

The next step is for a report to be prepared by the village based on last week’s hearing. The report will include a transcript of the hearing, as well as transcripts of previous hearings and meetings with NJAW; included will also be resident feedback pertaining to operations and maintenance only.

The report will then be submitted to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for review; the NJDEP will subsequently submit it to the Local Finance Board and the Board of Public Utilities. All three entities must approve the report before the village Board of Trustees can do so. The BOT is expecting to vote on first reading at its April 11 meeting.

Once the report is complete, it will be posted on the village website.

“In short, we’re convinced that this was in the best interest for the village,” Lewis said. “We found the right partner and we look forward to a long-term, very mutually successful relationship with New Jersey American Water and Jersey American Water through the water supply contract.”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — More than 20 million crimes are perpetrated against Americans each year, according to national crime statistics. To highlight what can be done, Seton Hall University is participating in National Crime Victims’ Rights Week from April 10 through 16.

On Thursday, April 14, from noon to 1 p.m., the community is invited to “Serving Victims – Building Trust – Restoring Hope,” featuring professor John M. Paitakes from the university Criminal Justice Department and Deborah McGowan, victim witness coordinator for the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. They will conduct an informative presentation on the rights and services available to victims of crime.

“I want this event to educate the public and make them aware of the rights victims have,” Paitakes said in a press release. “I also want students to be mindful of the various job opportunities available to them.”

The presentation will take place in the Beck Rooms of the Seton Hall University’s Walsh Library, 400 South Orange Ave. in South Orange. For more information, contact John Paitakes at paitakjo@shu.edu or 973-275-5886.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — New Jersey Blood Services will conduct a blood drive on Tuesday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Seton Hall University Center, 400 South Orange Ave. in South Orange.

To donate blood or for information on how to organize a blood drive, call 1-800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org.

LeRoy Seitz

MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Some feathers were recently ruffled when it became known that the results of the Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying investigation, conducted by Parsippany-Troy Hills interim Superintendent LeRoy Seitz into the Columbia High School baseball program will not be made public.

Seitz has been hired as an independent professional to conduct the investigation stemming from accusations that the four CHS baseball coaches bully student-athletes. Former player David DeFranco has filed a lawsuit against the district in which he alleges that he was repeatedly bullied by the coaches.

Father Randy Nathan has also been vocal about getting the four coaches — head varsity coach Joe Fischetti, assistant varsity coach Matt Becht, assistant junior varsity coach Sam Maietta and freshman coach Steve Campos — fired, as he alleges that his son, Alex, was bullied as well.

According to district spokeswoman Suzanne Turner, Seitz is expected to present his results to the Board of Education during its executive session April 18.

While the board will learn the results of Seitz’s investigation, the public will not.

“HIB results are never released,” Turner told the News-Record in a March 28 phone interview. “Also, it can’t be released because of student and personnel confidentiality.”

As the investigation results concern personnel, they are not subject to the Open Public Records Act.

Turner said the public will be made aware of any impact of the investigation on the baseball program, though she added that “there’s no reason to think anything will happen to the baseball program.”

But those critical of the school district are displeased that the report will not be made available.

“I wish I could say that I’m surprised by this decision, but I have come to expect nothing more than smoke and mirrors and deception,” Randy Nathan said in a weekend email, adding that the investigation is not even necessary as Superintendent John Ramos Jr. had confirmed 10 HIB cases in August 2015.

“Now it’s over five weeks since he stated that the investigation would be completed in two to four weeks, and we are now finding out it has not yet begun and will not be made available to the public. What do they have to hide? This is their continued attempt to deceive and mislead the parents and this community,” Randy Nathan said.

According to Seitz’s Feb. 26 contract, he will be compensated for his work at a rate of $125 per hour with a maximum total of $5,000, plus travel and other customary expenses.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — At long last South Orange Village has a new website. This long-discussed change was soft-launched last week and can be viewed at www.southorange.org.

The new website has several new tools and has improved upon pre-existing ones. Now, on the right-hand side of the front page, there are five clickable categories: “SO Inform,” “SO Connect,” “SO Engage,” “SO Community” and “SO Alerts.”

“SO Inform” gives visitors a streamlined process to subscribe to village updates via email or text message. With the easily accessible “SO Connect button,” residents can easily report concerns or issues and have them sent to the proper village department; through the application, the residents can also follow the progress of their concerns. “SO Engage” allows residents to respond to pending issues in the village with their opinions and concerns via a platform that is in some ways similar to the Maplewood Online forum. “SO Community” provides a geography-based, searchable database regarding the village’s zoning districts, real estate information and similar topics. And “SO Alerts” will be used to make sure residents receive important information in a timely fashion by posting emergency updates online and allowing residents to choose to receive the notifications via various methods.

Civic Plus, which was awarded the contract June 22, 2015, created the website. According to Resolution No. 2015-150, which awarded the contract, Civic Plus would be paid an amount not to exceed $11,500.

“The village has been looking to update/replace our website for several years,” village Business Administrator Barry Lewis Jr. told the News-Record via email. “The contract with Civic Plus was awarded at the end of June 2015, so the actual effort with Civic Plus has been under way for about eight months.

“The ‘design’ template and layout was a combination of Civic Plus and input from the village on our preferences, etc.,” Lewis continued.

Prior to awarding the contract to Civic Plus, the village issued a Request for Proposal and rejected bids from five other responders.

All in all, village officials are pleased with the new website’s appearance and functionality.

“The new website offers a number of new ‘tools’ to residents on a variety of issues,” Lewis said. “In addition, the new website offers a much friendlier user interface and appearance than the old, very cluttered and difficult to navigate former website. In addition, our old website was ‘homegrown,’ meaning you had to know computer code, etc., to make changes and update the site, contributing to the sometimes ‘stale’ content. With Civic Plus, the village’s interface is very easy and department heads with no computer-programming background and just a little hands-on training can easily update and keep their Web pages current and fresh.”

Village President Sheena Collum agrees and is pleased to have the new website functioning.

“I’m very thrilled to have our new website up and running and, over the next several weeks, we will be getting feedback from residents about their user experience and how we can make improvements,” Collum told the News-Record via email. “I’d like to personally thank our deputy village administrator, Adam Loehner, and our IT director, Stan Wilkinson, for their work on this initiative — it was quite the undertaking.”

For many, the arrival of this website came as a surprise, as a new website had been discussed for years with no visible progress. When former village President Alex Torpey was running for office in 2011, creating a new website was one of his campaign promises and, for the four years he was in office, many pointed to the outdated, former website as a criticism of Torpey’s administration.

Torpey told the News-Record that, toward the end of his term in 2015, the village began shifting its focus to a different website form, saying that where he had been going for “an open-source site on the WordPress platform,” the Board of Trustees was looking for “a simpler, more ‘out of the box solution’ than the previous direction.”

Nevertheless, the former village president is thrilled to see the new website up and running.

“I can definitely say I’m glad to see the new site launched,” Torpey told the News-Record via email. “The old one certainly needed an upgrade and the newer site better reflects the BOT’s interest in being more forward-thinking with technology. I’m sure it will provide better access to information for the community, which was always our goal while I was village president, and certainly one which has been continued and strengthened since then.”

The website is still in its soft-launch phase, so residents with suggestions or concerns may let the village know about them via email at itdepartment@southorange.org.

SOUTH ORANGE / WEST ORANGE / LIVINGSTON, NJ — Stop & Shop has made an emergency donation of one ton of kosher for Passover food to the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry in South Orange. Representatives of the Food Pantry, Stop & Shop, area clergy and elected officials were joined by students from the Golda Och Academy in West Orange and the Aquinas Academy in Livingston as the youngsters from these two faith-based schools united to combat hunger in Essex County and across New Jersey.

“It is our hope that families in need will be able to enjoy Passover. Our effort to assist the residents of Essex County and New Jersey underscores Stop & Shop’s commitment to the communities we serve,” Arlene Putterman, manager of public and community relations of Stop & Shop’s NY Metro Division, said in a press release. “We appreciate the efforts of the dedicated volunteers of the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry and of our elected officials as we work together to make this a joyful Passover.”

Diane Weiss, co-chairwoman of the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry, said in the release: “As Passover approaches, we are most thankful for the generosity that Stop & Shop has demonstrated. The Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry of Oheb Shalom Congregation subscribes to the idea expressed in Isaiah: ‘Share your food with the hungry. Take the homeless into your home.’ Our members feel a responsibility to the community; as such, since 1991, Oheb Shalom has been providing kosher food to all those in our community that may be in need. Giving charity is more than just writing a check.”

The donation included matzah, matzah meal, shelf-stable milk, canned vegetables, canned fruit, canned salmon, canned tuna, gefilte fish, egg noodles, grape juice, apple juice, boxed mixes of potato kugel, packaged soup mixes and apple sauce.

“The donation of one ton of kosher food by Stop & Shop is a generous contribution that will allow families in need to properly celebrate the Passover holiday,” Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said in the release. “It is important that corporate partners like Stop & Shop continue to work closely with the county to support the efforts of the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry and all those who strengthen the social safety net to support any Essex County resident in need.”

“We salute Stop & Shop for leading the effort to donate one ton of food to the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry so that those in need will have a joyous Passover,” Assemblywoman Mila Jasey said in the release. “Stop & Shop is leading the fight against hunger here in New Jersey, and its commitment to the community is to be commended.”

“When celebrating with our loved ones during this holiday season we need to remember the many individuals that rely on public and private assistance to feed their families. The one ton of kosher food donated by Stop & Shop will help feed many families during Passover,” Assemblyman John F. McKeon said. “This donation is one small step forward in fighting food insecurity, but hopefully this act of kindness will encourage even more individuals and companies this year to donate to fight hunger. Nearly one in five children — roughly 400,000 — face food insecurity in New Jersey every day. We all need to do more, especially those of us in elected office to help fight poverty in this state. No family should be forced to choose between buying medicine, providing shelter, paying utilities or putting food on the table every night.”

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the South Orange community, we are incredibly grateful to Stop & Shop for their generous donation of food for Passover,” South Orange Village President Sheena Collum said in the release. “This gesture represents the true spirit of our town and how we pull together to lend a helping hand. Food insecurity not only impacts our local community but is a growing challenge statewide and throughout the country.”

“Ensuring that all people have enough to eat is a basic human responsibility,” Rabbi Mark Cooper of Oheb Shalom Congregation, which founded the Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry in 1991, said. “The bounty of the earth is not the property of any one person, but belongs to us all. Ensuring that people in need are given what they need with respect is an essential Jewish obligation. As Jews, we aim to preserve and protect the dignity of every person. That is not because we are kind or generous. Rather, it is because we are summoned to do what is right and just.”

“On Passover, we not only celebrate freedom from slavery, but also acknowledge those who are still metaphorically enslaved in this country,” Rabbi Jesse Olitzky of Congregation Beth El in South Orange said. “For those that are trapped in the shackles of poverty and food insecurity, it is our obligation, as Jews and as human beings, to help. We say at our Passover seder tables ‘let all who are hungry come and eat.’ May we understand our obligation to help those in need so that residents of our state don’t have to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or paying rent or paying for medicine. Let all who are hungry come and eat. This is a statement for all of us to live by — not just on Passover, but year-round.”

South Orange’s Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel Assistant Rabbi Alexandra Klein said: “Each spring, our synagogues read a selection from the Torah which teaches that when our ancestors harvested their crops, they were commanded to leave the corners of their fields untouched so that the needy in the community could come and eat. With this generous donation from Stop and Shop, we take part in this ancient tradition, and celebrate our shared responsibility to ensure that no one in this community goes hungry.”

According to experts who help provide for the food insecure in New Jersey:

• more people are coming more often to pantries and other feeding programs because they are forced to use their ever-eroding resources to pay for other critical needs such as housing, transportation and medicine, with little or nothing left over for food;
• almost 400,000 children in New Jersey are food insecure;
• 77 percent said they had to choose between paying for utilities or food;
• 73 percent chose between medicine and food;
• 70 percent chose between housing and food;
• 61 percent chose between transportation and food;
• 35 percent chose between education and food;
• 75 percent said they purchased inexpensive, unhealthy food as a way to cope;
• 57 percent had a household member with high blood pressure; and
• 28 percent had a household member with diabetes.

Photos Courtesy of David Frank

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The SOMS Model U.N. has recently returned from the Global Classrooms International Middle School Model U.N. conference in New York City, where 52 SOMS students were excited, engaged, collaborative and industrious during the three-day conference. The SOMS delegation represented the countries of Belize, Bangladesh, the Comoros and the Czech Republic. Students grappled with multiple issues including the militarization of space and child labor. Hazel Allison-Way and Abigail Ratner won an award for their work in the UNESCO committee.

Photos Courtesy of Suzanne Turner

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The village of South Orange and the township of Maplewood will be conducting a survey to gain feedback that will inform the development of an Age-Friendly Community Action Plan. The survey is part of an assessment of needs for adults older than 60 and is funded by the Grotta Fund for Senior Care. Over the coming month, the two towns will be conducting the survey online and going out into the community to talk to a wide representation of older adults from diverse neighborhoods, ethnicities, income levels, ages and more with a goal of surveying between 400 and 750 adults ages 60 and older. This grassroots effort will help the initiative reach individuals whose voices may not always be heard.

An age-friendly community is one where policies, services and structures related to the physical and social environments are designed to support and enable older people to live in a secure environment, enjoy good health and continue to participate fully in their communities, according to a joint release from the two towns. The three-year Community Action Plan will identify age-friendly features, barriers and suggestions for improvement, and will serve as a template for collaborative planning to address the needs of the area’s growing senior population.

The survey questions will take most people approximately 15 minutes to complete, depending on how much they have to say. All responses are confidential.

The survey is available online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SOMA-AgeFriendlySurvey.

Hard copies will be available at the Maplewood and South Orange municipal offices, libraries, senior centers and other facilities.

When completed, if not completed online, the surveys can be returned to South Orange Village Hall or Maplewood Town Hall.

The survey will close on May 2.

For more information, contact Maplewood’s Annette DePalma at 973-762-8120, ext. 3400, or South Orange’s Cathy Cameron at 973-378-7715, ext. 2.

Photos by Shanee Frazier
Piano students from South Orange and Maplewood eagerly await their turn at the keys at the Community Piano Recital.

South Orange piano teacher Yudit Terry, back center, shows pride in her students, from left, Gabriel Margolis, Ava Lee and Vivienne Germain.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Burgeoning young pianists from Maplewood and South Orange were given the opportunity to amaze an audience as the local Music Educators Association presented its annual Community Piano Recital at the DeHart Community Center in Maplewood on April 3.

The array of musical selections ranged from a lively rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” to Chopin’s “Waltz in A Minor.” The program also featured piano duet; mixed instrument duets from sisters Maria and Kaitlin Knipe, on cello and piano respectively; and several pieces composed by the young performers.

The annual recital is the brainchild of a local consortium of piano teachers who wanted to create a forum for their students to interact with one another and their community.

The piano recital is open to any music student who is a resident of Maplewood or South Orange, and age 18 or younger.

“The annual recital started back in 1996, after a former Maplewood piano teacher discovered that the now-defunct organization Arts Maplewood would bring in a piano every year for a series of concerts at the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts in Maplewood because the center had no piano in there,” Maplewood piano teacher Elizabeth Burnett said in a recent phone interview with the News-Record. “Through the generosity of the organization, our recitals were originally held at the Burgdorff Center, where we were allowed the use of the piano on non-concert days.

“When Arts Maplewood was no longer able to sponsor the recital, we moved to St. George’s Church in Maplewood, before moving to Winchester Gardens in Maplewood, and since 2012 it has been held at the DeHart Community Center.”

Burnett said that to find students to participate in the recital, the consortium contacts as many piano teachers with students from Maplewood and South Orange as possible, asking the teachers to submit the names of young musicians. Students play an audition piece in the home of a committee member for an audience of three piano teachers, other than their own instructor, in order to be accepted into the recital.

Burnett said that the recital has maintained its popularity among local music students since its inception 20 years ago.

“This year we have 38 students performing, and in the past we have had up to 13 teachers submit the names of 51 students to perform as part of the recital,” she said. “Our mission is to showcase local pianists through the age of 18, and we are excited to present a community of pianists, instead of the students only performing once a year in their teacher’s studio recitals. This allows them to perform for a wide audience in a community setting. Our community recitals are a celebration of music for solos, duets and performances with other instruments.”

For some, the community aspect of the recital is one of the most rewarding features of participating in this annual event.

“Playing an instrument in the traditional sense of playing it and then going home and practicing, is a very isolated experience,” piano teacher Tricia Tunstall said in a recent phone interview with the News-Record. “For many of our students, it was something they did by themselves, and never really got to connect with other students.”

For Tunstall, being able to have the shared experience of playing for others and also listening to others play is a priceless experience for music students.

“They have a natural group of friends and peers that they can connect with and learn from, they have really enjoyed listening to each other, learning from each other and inspiring each other,” she said. “For the piano teachers, it has been a positive experience as well to get to know each other and work together because it can become very isolated for us as well.”

South Orange piano teacher Yudit Terry enjoys having her students involved in the recitals each year because it helps them not only to connect with other piano students, but also to develop as performers.

“I have had students in the recital since it began in 1996, and I think it is a wonderful way to give your students a forum to perform and watch them grow from year to year without fear or stage fright,” she said in a recent phone interview with the News-Record. “It brings together the community, and you see parents and siblings coming out to support their little performers.”

Terry also likes the fact that it brings together a very diverse group of students, both in terms of age and backgrounds, as some students attend area public schools and others are in local private schools and might not have met if not for the community recital.

Vivienne Germain, 14, who studies with Terry, echoes this sentiment about the ability to make new friends in the community who have a shared interest.

“I’ve been taking piano for almost nine years and I enjoy the community recitals because it’s a good opportunity to hear a lot of students in the community,” Germain said in a recent interview with the News-Record. “It’s interesting because you see familiar faces and compare how they sound now as opposed to five years ago when we all first started doing the recitals together.”

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Like nuclear fusion, ideas can collide and create an explosion of something new born from separate components. Experimenting with the meeting and colliding of minds and ideas is at the heart of the second Create and Collide Festival: SouthNext, to be held at multiple venues in downtown South Orange, including the South Orange Performing Arts Center, Friday through Sunday, June 17 through 19.

The South Orange festival is sponsored by Saint Barnabas Medical Center. SouthNext will feature 20 creative and interactive sessions, 12 musical performances, and a “Creative Midway” of participatory happenings and community art projects available to the general public. Considered the first such festival in New Jersey, SouthNext focuses on the intersection where art, music and provocative ideas meet and the creative explosions that come from connecting and collaborating. For the schedule of events, and to purchase weekend Festival passes, visit http://www.southnextnj.com.

Event founder and South Orange Village Trustee Stephen Schnall said the theme of the festival draws on the community’s strengths. “‘Create and Collide’ is a natural theme for South Orange, where so many different types of people, ideas and sensibilities collide every day to make something incredibly wonderful,” Schnall said in a release.

The headline concert on Saturday will feature NJ-based The Smithereens who will appear on SOPAC’s main stage at 8 p.m.

A highlight of the weekend will be a session with David Brancaccio, host of public radio’s business program “Marketplace,” who will host a panel of local celebrities discussing what it is like to be a “regular” resident in the two towns. Professor Matt Hale from Seton Hall University will “referee” mayors from three local towns and their counterparts from decades ago to contrast who had a better village; this session will be set in a boxing ring as a way to amp up the sense of conflict, yet it will all be peaceful.

Saturday’s programming is scheduled from 10 a.m. to midnight and Sunday’s events run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. As an added convenience for busy parents, local business operator Work and Play will provide programmed childcare for wristband-holders during the festival.

Visit the SouthNext website at http://southnextnj.com to purchase all-access wristbands and for full details on the schedule of events.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Seton Hall University’s WSOU welcomes Bernie Wagenblast ’78 and Bob Picozzi ’72 to its Hall of Fame and presents a new award to Stephanie Wightman ’08, the WSOU Distinguished Young Alumna. Honorees will be inducted April 14; ceremonies will be held in the fourth-floor atrium of Seton Hall University’s Jubilee Hall at 7 p.m.

The WSOU Hall of Fame honors distinguished alumni who have made significant contributions to their professions and recognizes their involvement with Seton Hall University’s student-run radio station. Inductees are chosen based on their professional accomplishments, WSOU student career activities, service to WSOU and Seton Hall University after graduation, support of current students, personal examples of servant leadership and involvement with alumni activities.

“It’s been nearly 40 years since I left WSOU, but I still feel its influence,” Wagenblast said in a release. “When I think of all the great people who have been a part of the station, it’s a tremendous and humbling honor to be inducted into the WSOU Hall of Fame.” Wagenblast is the voice of Total Traffic and Weather, which is featured on major metropolitan stations including 1010 WINS and 101.5 WKXW. His voiceover work is heard daily by commuters in New York City subways, PATH, PATCO and NJ Transit and by travelers on the AirTrain at the JFK and Newark airports. His work with transportation extends past the auditory with his electronic publication, the Transportation Communication Newsletter. Wagenblast used his vast radio knowledge to create several notable transportation communication services for the NJ and NY Port Authority during his time as the operations manager of TRANSCOM.

Picozzi established himself as a prominent voice in sports broadcasting through his time at various Connecticut radio stations before becoming an ESPN SportsCenter anchor in 1998. He won numerous sportscaster awards, including a New England Regional Emmy for Outstanding TV Sports Anchor and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association’s Connecticut Sportscaster of the Year. Piccozzi shares his passion for sports with his community by coaching youth basketball and baseball leagues in Cheshire, Conn. He also serves as vice-president for the Picozzi Family Foundation, which awards scholarships to high school and college students throughout New Jersey.

Wightman will become the first WSOU Distinguished Young Alumna honoree. The award was created this year to recognize the accomplishments of recent graduates. Wightman, a former WSOU promotions director, has worked for Air America Media and New York Public Radio on esteemed programs such as NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “The Rachel Maddow Show.” In 2010, she switched to television where her credits on various NBC Universal programs include MSNBC’s “The Ed Show,” NBC’s “Early Today” and MSNBC’s “First Look.” She presently is a video producer for MSNBC’s “MTP Daily.” In her free time, Wightman coordinates food collections through the Center for Action and her condominium association for Bergen County families in need.

WSOU, which began broadcasting in 1948, is the award-winning student-run station of Seton Hall University. Celebrated for its loud rock format and coverage of Seton Hall athletics, WSOU’s signal reaches all five boroughs of New York City and much of northern and central New Jersey. Since its switch to a hard rock format in 1986, Seton Hall’s Pirate Radio has developed a national reputation as an industry leader in breaking bands, giving first area airtime to household names such as Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Korn and My Chemical Romance. In addition to broadcasting on 89.5 FM, WSOU can be streamed on the WSOU website and iHeartRadio. More information about the station can be found online at www.wsou.net.

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — It’s almost tee time for the 18th annual Columbia High School Cougar Boosters Golf Classic this May 2 at Maplewood Country Club. Proceeds from the classic support school athletics and extracurricular activities at the high school, and since 1994 the Boosters have handed out more than $300,000.

Dozens of programs are assisted each year, including, the baseball, basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, softball and track teams, along with clubs and activities including Midnight Madness, all-school musical, Quiz-Bowl, marching band, Parnassian Society, The Columbian, Velocity Magazine, robotics club, Shakespeare Festival, jazz band and ultimate Frisbee.

“It’s a fantastic day of golf, and a great chance to network, and do some real good for our school and community,” classic Chairman Al Farah said in a release. “We couldn’t make this happen without our great returning golfers, and amazing sponsors.”

According to Farah, “Companies can become corporate sponsors and donate prizes. We’ve got tee signs for sale to promote your local business, along with legacy signs to celebrate your recent CHS graduates and alums.”

As part of the package, golfers get a made-to-order breakfast at the country club, golf cart, a round of golf, cocktail hour and dinner. Entertainment is provided by the CHS jazz ensemble and the school’s a cappella group, Unaccompanied Minors.

There are prizes for closest to the pin, and a hole-in-one prize of a one-year lease on a new Volvo. Recent prizes have included tickets to New York Yankees games, Broadway shows and evenings out at local restaurants.

People can get more information and register online at www.chscougarboosters.org.