Always

Vote like the lives of your children depend on your doing so!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Do Ballots Stop Bullets?

To Our BERGEN COUNTY NAACP PRESIDENT:
Were you ever taught Civics?
When?
Why was your presentation directed to Eagle Students and not the entire
HS Student Body?
Are you going to have a similar talk with the people carrying the guns and the folks who pay them with our tax dollars?
Did you explain the connection between a diverse police department and the City Manager, City Council and Mayor?
Did you explain how policeman are hired and fired?
Did you speak at all about psychological tests Policeman should pass on a regular basis and not just once?
Did you talk and about Rookies with guns?
Do they know that their GPA's, no matter how high will not stop bullets or choke holds?
Did you tell them not to trick or treat at unfamiliar houses?
Did you tell them how important is to learn how to make 3 point turns in order to avoid turning around in driveways?
Did you tell them not to knock on doors asking for help if their cars break down?
Did you deal with the reasons why there is a lack of diversity in police departments?
Did you give them a History of the Participation of NAACP in Civil Rights Issues?
Did you explain Engleworld's Charter to them?
Did you define City Charter?
Did you discuss City Government at all?
Do they know what to do with the voter registration form THAT YOU GAVE THEM?
Did you explain that it is of utmost importance to go home and discuss the Act of voting with their parents?
Did you ask them if their parents voted in the last election>
Do they have any idea of what you meant when you told them that voting could change the world?
Did they walk away thinking that the ballot could stop a bullet?
How are children expected to know the value of a vote if they have not learned anything about citizenship?
DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT THE STUDENTS IN THE ROOM?
HOW EXACTLY WILL VOTING CHANGE THE FACT THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR CONTINUE TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE WE PAY TO PROTECT US?
civ·ics
ˈsiviks/Submit
noun = the study of the rights and duties of citizenship.
https://www.icivics.org/

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Destination Englewood? Did only Certain People Get The Memo?

Destination Englewood? This letter was emailed to the 4th Ward Gazette by a very dissatisfied resident who recently moved her family to Englewood.


October 8, 2014


Good day:

I am writing in regard to a recent insulting experience as a patron of Selena's Perfect Nails on Palisades Ave, Englewood, NJ.

Having been serviced here in the past, I was quite surprised by such dismay from the owner. The same owner that shared a compliment with me in regard to my daughter; that has also frequented this establishment for years. She expressed that my teenage daughter is always very courteous and pleasant.

Today, I entered for a mani/pedi to a rather empty salon and she tells me it will be an hour wait.

I reply "ok" and continued to select my polish.. Another woman walks in 10 minutes later and she asked her politely to sign in.  She said the young lady will be right with her?

Am I chop liver? I politely ask her "Why am I told an hour and the other walk-in gets serviced immediately?"
She tells me that no one wants to do my nails at her Salon? Yet, the workers all greeted me with friendly hello's and smiles?

I ask her if she no longer wants my business and she proceeds to tell me NO!!!
She doesn't need my money? The nerve! After I have patronized this business with my daughter and myself for years?

I said as you wish and proceeded out the door!
I am disgusted by business owners that don't respect or value my money in Englewood.

Residents and taxpayers should be treated with dignity and respect.
Without us, there is no you!

Englewood, you have got to do better!

Sincerely,
Disgusted Taxpayer

Selena's Perfect Nails
97 W Palisade Ave, Englewood, NJ 07631
(201) 227-7100

Friday, October 31, 2014

Unadorned Facts And Statistics...


"...This is not a 1 Year Phenomena....." 

Michael Roth, Interim Superintendent of the Englewood Public Schools - Addressed the public at the Englewood School Board Meeting, October 16, 2014.

This is what the Interim Superintendent had to say about Test Scores.

"Since we received the scores, we’ve been very concerned. We have been taking them apart trying to find out, what went wrong, what is not going right. However, there are 2 particular areas.

1 is from 3rd to 4th grade in Language Arts. The other one is going from 6th to 7th grade in mathematics. 

Where the other scores went up a couple of points or down a couple of points, those 2 specific areas fell off a cliff. They didn’t go up or down by 1 or 2 points. They went off by almost 30 points. We’ve been trying to pull it apart. 

We’ve gone back to approximately 2006 so far.

That’s been happening in Englewood every single year. I don’t wanna give you a glib, answer. Right now, I am as confused as you. It doesn’t make sense that on the other years, there is fluctuation of a couple points, which is normally what you expect.  If you’re getting better, you’ll see a certain trend going upward. If there is a problem you will see a certain trend going downward. You never see a 30 point drop. I mean, it just doesn’t happen, and yet…

I don’t accept that as an answer this is not a one year phenomena. This has been happening, or close to it, for every single year. There is always a reason. There is a cause and effect. We’re going to have to find it. We are going to work to find it and I don’t want to give you a glib answer. I just don’t know. 

That’s why I wanted people to see unadorned facts and statistics. So we can dedicate ourselves to doing something about it. It doesn’t do any good to not face the facts. And that’s what it is…it is a very fair question. And I’m going to have to come to you with some answers. But I just don’t have them now. I don’t have them now."





Stephen Brown was School Board President 2006 - w/vice President Glenn Garrison
"                              "     2007 - w/vice President
Glenn Garrison was president in 2008 - w/vice President Stephen Brown
Henry Pruitt III was president in 2009 - w/vice President Stephen Brown

Stephen Brown was also President of the Board of Education in 2012 - 2013 and spearheaded the Outsourcing of irreplaceable student support staff.
The people of Englewood voted Stephen and Glenn off the School Board in 2013.

These 2 SEEK members are the architects of the present situation and cannot be trusted to 
correct it. They are clearly part of the problem.

History cannot be changed simply because 2 SEEK Candidates want to turn back the sands of time and rewrite it for themselves.

The graph below was copied from a page from 
FAST = Fiscal Accountability Starts Today


Look Back and Learn from Past Mistakes

History is a good teacher. Some people still do not know the FACTS. There is a formula for how
Superintendents are paid in the State of New Jersey. We have just gone through nearly 4 years of SEEK Board Members refusing to follow the laws of the state of New Jersey.
Look back and remember why Glenn Garrison and Stephen Brown were not re-elected in 2013. These 2 people have no remorse for wrong decisions made in the past. Both of these people spent 9 years on the Board and watched the Test Scores drop so low that our High School is now designated a FOCUS SCHOOL.
The decision to Outsource deprived children of vital in class support. Test Scores dropped even lower. These 2 are the manufacturers of the "failure factory" that they created through neglect while they spent time on everything except student academic improvement.
The people who created the problem cannot be trusted to correct it. Do not be fooled by these 2.

                                      "....And how are the children?"

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Friends Across Party Lines: Is it Possible?

Professor Dierdre Paul
It was Monday night, October 27, 2014.  I had just finished another day of battening down the hatches outside my home. The pool boy quit and the lawn man is under paid. I was tired and drained by a hard day's work. A friend called and said that her husband wondered why no one from Englewood was in attendance at a political forum. Truth be told, a forum was the last thing I wanted to witness. I was all set to watch this week's episode of The Good Wife while enjoying a massage in my ijoy chair. I said, yeah, sure, I know why folks aren't there.



Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.

The event had been billed as a meet Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. type thing. I mean, why? So I had not planned to go. Another friend called and gave me a whole new perspective. He said that Dr. Dierdre Paul was going to debate Congressman Pascrell. Now that is a horse of a different color altogether. I threw overlarge jeans on over my pajamas and rushed to the church with my camera. This, I wanted to see.

I wanted to witness this intelligent, well spoken African American woman and Professor at Montclair State University debate the seasoned over the hill Congressman. Yeah, I said that. My blog, my opinion.






Dierdre speaks with a Teaneck Resident
Dr. Paul's wrap up explained what type of Republican she is. I agree, Dr. Paul is a different kind of Republican. Congressman Pascrell is a different kind of Democrat. Listening to the 2 of them go back and forth, it was difficult at times to decide who was the Republican and who was the Democrat. In my ripe old age, I am becoming a much more discerning voter. I vote people and issues, not parties. The old man did not seem to understand that much of his talk when referencing the Home Mortgage and Student Loan situations show him to be too much Republican for the Democrat in some of us. His language was condescending at times and so were certain responses.

Pastor Taylor looks on.
I guess that is the way some male politicians respond to intelligent African American Women. Right, Mr. Skurnick? Some politicians really need to polish up their filters or just get some,especially since they find it really easy to criticize the populace. I was not impressed by him or his message. What was his message anyway? (Crooked Bankers are a fact of life so make sure you can afford that home before taking out a mortgage.) Someone please tell Politicians that the middle class is disappearing? Or is it gone already? How many families actually make that much money today? $250,000 per household, per year. That means that teachers are not middle class. Are you middle class? If not, just understand that 98% of the Politicians are not addressing us. Are we chopped liver?

Is that the reason that the people in attendance  were not from Englewood? I wonder.

John Babb, Pastor Taylor, Theresa Thomas, Richard Stanard
Dierdre and I have had conversations about Vouchers and we do not agree. That is the nature of friendship. Individuality is a virtue to some. Pascrell supports Charters and I don't like those either. Neither of them seem to get the fact that both of those institutions are financed by the same special interest groups/private industry that fund PARCC and the Common Core. Rich folks making money off Public Education. Every Tom, Dick and Jane thinks they can run a Charter and do a better job than the Public School System. Where does that leave the public schools that everyone seems more than willing to watch decay?

I am proud of my friend. It is not everyday that an African American Woman decides to take on such a fight when she knows full well that she lives in the middle of Democrat country.

I wish she was still a Democrat so we could fight together on issues other than education. Even Education seems to be going partisan lately. I also wish that the conditions that drove her to the other side did not exist. Oh Well. I have never voted the way my union or anyone else told me. I have always voted the way I wanted based on the people and the issues. I hope that African Americans will begin to read and vote the issues as well. There are far too many Liberals who see themselves as our natural born saviors and leaders or who feel they know better than we who should be our leaders. I prefer to choose my own, thank you very much.

Good luck, Dr. Dierdre Glenn Paul. I know that you are a different kind of Republican  and I am proud to call you friend.


Monday, October 27, 2014

What Does Homecoming Mean In Your Town?

It is time to become good hosts. 
Participate in teaching the young 
the true meaning of Homecoming.


         1. a return to one's home.
2. an annual event held by a college, university, or high school for visiting alumni.



Some cities are going back to the tradition of parade..

In the beginning, when the tradition was new, schools hoped that if they made the alumni happy they would donate. That sounds reasonable to me. So what happened in Englewood?





Do not SELL YOUR VOTE for something that belongs to you already!


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Let Paradise Stand: Forget the Parking Lot


McKay Park is located in between 2 streams or brooks running north and south. This photo was taken while standing on the 2nd street bridge looking toward Palisade Avenue. This is the brook on the eastern side of the Park. 


For all those who live up stream of MacKay Park. Repair of the walls enclosing the brook will not guarantee that we will not see this again. If more of the grassy areas of the Park are taken away we lose more of Mother Nature's Sponge and increase the risk of this happening again. This area of the town is and always has been low lying. Englewood is built on a river bed. Nothing we do will be able to change that HISTORY. Ignoring it will only cause more problems. The homes along the West Side of the Park and the homes on the East Side will be negatively impacted. We do not need any more concrete in MacKay Park.

On The Job Training: Participate In The System

All past wrongs will never be solved in one night.

Prioritize.

Take a deep breath.
Make a list.
Put that list in priority order.
What is most important to address right now?

Breathe....I am trying to take my own advice...

While shopping at Costco, I met a former Board Member. She had previously asked me to join her
"Adopt a Classroom" program. I told her that I was comforted by the idea that such programs existed and held her hand a bit longer than I had previously intended.

She advised me to change my tone. She said that everything I complained about was crucial to be corrected and that people are turned off by the tone. She added that she thought I was intelligent and had the good of my community foremost in mind as a  motivation when speaking at Board Meetings.

She said that the children would surely suffer if we were not heard, so we had to change for the good of the children. At the time, I was pissed that she thought she could tell me what to do or how to say anything  But, in the end...

I was a Theatre Major... I watched other members of the Community speak like crooning Jazz singers and they got what they wanted. I could do that. Basically ask for the same thing but in a tone that they consider benign.

Breathe and Prioritize.

A couple of weeks later the Superintendent recommended that this Board Member's program be abolished and the Board of Education voted to end the program. This was a free Volunteer Program with qualified members of the Community who helped children in the Elementary School classrooms.

It is hard to maintain that. Jazz who.........? 1, 2, 3, 4....Breathe....

Prioritize....!

Part of the frustration is dealing with being angry about too many wrongs at the same time.

Prioritize...

I am game to try this if you are.
Put that list in order.
Would you like to compare priorities?

Breathe...

Speak up about your priorities like the crooning Jazz Singer and we will see if that works.


...And how are the children...?

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Former School Board Member Shirley Smith's Lawn Sign Party Fundraiser

Lawn Sign Party
Thursday, October 9, 2014
7:00 PM
374 Palisade Ave
Englewood, NJ

Checks should be made out to:
Friends of Betty, George and Kevin. 
Treasurer: Philip Beamer 
270 Rosemont Place 
Englewood, NJ 076310

Introducting Shirley Smith.....
She has been active in her Community for 57 years. For those of you who are not aware, there is a tireless woman living in Englewood's 4th Ward who has served the Public School District for over 50 years. She started her service as a Paraprofessional. She was a classroom aid at Quarles School. Shirley Smith spent 12 years on the Englewood School Board. She was appointed and also ran her own campaigns after the Board was changed into an elected Board or Type II School District by popular vote.

She was on the Board when the subject of Outsourcing came up. She witnessed the discussion of "window shopping". She watched from the audience as the Board Majority voted, with only George Garrison III abstaining. After she retired from the Board in 2012, she watched as the District abolished the positions of Secretary and Paraprofessional.
"Education is very important to me. The system is not doing what I expected it to. Our children are not getting what they should. We have a lot of work to do to make this district better and  we should not be making excuses about parent involvement. We need to just do whatever we have to to make sure all of the children get a good education." Shirley Smith
Left: School Board Candidate Kevin Lake
Right: Jack Silverman.

"You finally have a  candidate I can support,"
says Jack Silverman.




Smith decided to retire from the Board and work with members of the Community to bring about change in the Englewood Public School District. She is a member of the Recreation Advisory Board and the Traffic Advisory Committee for the City of Englewood, New Jersey. She supports the safe routes to school programs. She is actively involved in activities that will insure that children who have a long lonely walk to school are safe. She feels this is a safety issue and wants to protect children from traffic accidents and stranger danger.
"Even though I am off the School Board I am still actively involved with the children of Englewood." Shirley Smith
Shirley supported Carter, Feinstein and Pazant in last year's school Board Elections. She worked the campaign and was instrumental in the final push to get the word out into the Community. She was there in the final hours, the day before the Election in 2013.  

George Garrison III, Betty Griffin and Kevin Lake 
attend Celebration and Presentation of the 
Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Maquette to the Englewood Public Library

This year, Mrs. Shirley Smith supports candidates, Betty Griffin, George Garrison III and Kevin Lake in their campaign to become members of the Englewood School Board. She feels that these 3 Candidates are the ones who will be able to help put the board back on track. When asked about her service with George Garrison III, she says that Garrison III is a changed person. When he was involved with SEEK, he was new to Englewood. 





George Garrison III poses with
Jeanette Curtis and his
2 daughters.
Mrs. Smith invites you to a Fundraiser in her home to support the candidacy of Betty Griffin, George Garrison III and Kevin Lake. Meet and speak with the Candidates about any issues or concerns you have with the Englewood Public School District. They need to hear what you think the problems are. They need your input and they need your contributions.




Betty Griffin and Anthony Cureton, President
of the NAACP
Most of all, they need your votes. Please attend and give what you are able. I think a Lawn Sign costs less than twenty dollars.



Shirley C. Franklin, the first female mayor of Atlanta, Georgia spoke at Rutgers University’s Run Sister Run conference that encourages women to take an active part in politics. She says that Candidates should never refuse even 1 dollar from Residents, because if a community person gives you 5 dollars or even 1 dollar, that person is going to vote for you. I think she has something there. So please attend our Lawn Sign Party.

Bring your support..







Scott Reddin and George Garrison III
Recreation Advisory Board
http://cityofenglewood.org/content/1441/1760/1781.aspx

Traffic Advisory Committee
http://cityofenglewood.org/content/1441/1760/1784.aspx

Run, Sister Run!
http://www.pinterest.com/plumwalk2/run-sister-run-the-power-of-women-in-politics/

Shirley C. Franklin - 1st female Mayor of Atlanta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Franklin



...And how are the children?

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Join the Conversation: You are the Subject

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER...
THE ENGLEWOOD SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION 
WILL BE PART OF 

GENERAL 
NOVEMBER ELECTION.




VOTE NOVEMBER 4, 2014 FROM THE BOTTOM UP!

For the first time ever the Englewood School Board Elections will be held in November. November 4, 2014. Voters will be required to make many more choices, because the ballot will be filled with new choices. Make the choice to change your thinking and start at the bottom with the issues that affect you on a local level. All politics are local.
Senator - 
Congress -
County Executive -
Freeholder -
City Council - 
School Board - Start here - This is the BOTTOM LINE on having your say on November 4, 2014.

Line 1 Betty Griffin

Line 5 George Garrison III

Line 6 Kevin Lake


Wednesday, October 1, 2014

MacKay Park:What Does the Future Hold for Our Park?

The City Council recently voted to spend $18,000 
for a study to determine what will make MacKay Park better.
MacKay Park was designed by Donald MacKay. 
He gave it to the people of Englewood as a Christmas gift in 1906...
..."1906 Christmas gift to the City of  Englewood was a large tract of land in the Fourth Ward to be used as a Park. MacKay purchased this land from W.W. Phelps. This entrance includes the only remaining (of six) Phelps gatehouse. Later, more land was added to the Park. In his will MacKay bequeathed $10,000.00 for maintenance..." Images of  America: Englewood and Englewood Cliffs
The Park has undergone a lot of changes NOT in MacKay's plan.
More change is coming.
Decisions are going to be made.
Do you want to be part of the change?
This is a chance for you to have your say.
What do you think will make YOUR MacKay Park better?

What would make you and your family want to get more use out of our Park?

Here are some of my thoughts on the fly...What are yours?
  • We must begin with a clean slate: No discussion of the Master Plan
  • Let us have true dialog that is not directed by the Mayor or anyone else.
  • Re-install the bridges
  • Reassess the idea of locking off the Elmore Ave. gate
  • Turn the gatehouse into a Museum of Englewood History making it an educational institution.
  • Reattach the small Park Area on Elmore Avenue to the Park creating a sitting area for Elmore Avenue residents. Install an attractive footbridge into the Park. (Many people do not even know that this build-able lot is actually part of MacKay Park
  • Replace the grills
  • Repair bathroom facilities in Arena, pool area and picnic area
  • Repair water fountains
  • Redo the lighting design
  • Make the Arena a year round facility that serves the entire community
  • Allow more use of the park by Englewood residents
  • Post signage as to when play by Englewood's children is not just allowed, but encouraged. (This is required anyway.)
  • Post signage with positive messages
  • Create a garden area
  • Listen to the MacKay Park Legacy Committee with more serious ears. They cared about the Park before anyone else was paying attention.
  • Movies in the Park
  • Band shell with music in the Park
What are some of your ideas? No one will ever know what you want if you stay at home.
Come out the way you did for the first Master Plan Meeting. If we do not continue to have our say, our ideas will always be ignored.




Monday, September 15, 2014

Part 1 Photo Documentary: The Making of An Historic Site

It was an eyesore. This has been said by even those who love the historic garden on the corner of Lafayette Place and Genesee Avenue has been transformed over the last 2 months. Some say that the garden had been allowed to go fallow for a long time. Thing is the garden has not been allowed to go fallow for any length of time. The site was not productive in 2013 because of flooding and other catastrophes beyond the control of gardeners. This photo documentary demonstrates that the site has not been neglected.

Even those who are categorically against the garden have proven that this land has only been used for the purpose of gardening for over 100 years. This is the stuff of which historic sites are made. It has special historical significance beyond the scope of one man or one woman. 

On September 23, 2014, the City Council is scheduled to have another discussion of the resolution that would designate the garden an historic site. Please attend this City Council meeting and support the designation of this treasured PLACE as an historic site. 

May 28, 2011
When I decided not to farm my backyard any further, my roto tiller was given to
the men who garden in this spot. I recently planted some greens that Mr. Gainey
gave me that he bought in South Carolina. Those seeds made some great salad 
eating. I must remember to allow a few plants to seed up. The seeds may be dried 
and saved for planting next season. 
May 28, 2011
Deacon Norman and George Owens brother Kenny. They started a garden in
the vacant lot across the street from the Lafayette garden, but only used the 
sitefor one season. I suspect that the area was shaded too much of the day.
June 23, 2011
Note the wild grow in the western part of the garden. This was a haven for 
groundhogsand other small animals.
April 19, 2012
Most gardeners in this region begin summer crops after May 15. This is 
traditionally thought of as the last day of expected frost. Ideally, this growth 
would have been turned into the soil with organic matter. Stalks should be 
removed during fall cleanup. Insects winter in the stalks and lay eggs. 
Leftover stalks provide insects a great place to hatch and grow.
May 6, 2012
We were told that the present condition of the garden is unsightly and does not fit 
in with the surrounding neighborhood. Here the traditional rows are beautiful.
Take a look at the gardens border. Does that represent the neighborhood?
May 6, 2012
These photos were taken on my birthday. I visited the garden often and was just 
beginning to document the goings on in the 4th Ward. Again, check out the 
borders of the garden. Look at the overgrown borders and the ribbon by the 
street. Mr. Gainey and George Owens are good farmers and used a technique 
that my father and large farmers used in the south in farm country. The site 
slopes downhill towards the east and Lafayette  Place. These seasoned farmers 
plowed their traditional rows across the space going north and south. 
This practice slowed the flow of water down to hold it in the garden.

October 17, 2012
Councilman Wayne Hamer's First 4th Ward Town Hall at Community Baptist 
Church.  A Genesee Avenue Resident complained about unsightly vegetation in
            the garden.  

October 27, 2012
10 days after the Resident's complaint about rotting vegetation and his collision with a 
deer. He blamed this on the garden.  There was merit in his complaint. He had a valid 
point. He just wanted the corner to look better all year round. The bulldozer removed 
the cold crop. All of the crops that withstand frost were scraped off the garden site. 
Collards, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, lettuce were removed and discarded.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013, a few of us went to the City Council and asked if the garden could still be used as a garden. We pleaded the case of the men working the garden at the time. Lynne Algrant was
substituting for Mayor Frank Huttle III and presided over the Council that night. The Council agreed informally, without taking a vote that the garden could remain a garden. Mayor Huttle returned from his Florida trip and was there at the end of the meeting. The City Manager and I had some words. He was not very nice, to say the least. That is history. It seems that somewhere between that Tuesday, April 23 and that Thursday, April 25 this decision was reversed. Orders were given to destroy the garden. A neighbor of the called me and I got there minutes after the bulldozer left the site.

April 25, 2013 - The date of the Englewood Public School District's re-organization
meeting. 3 new School Board Members were sworn in on this day. The New School
Board Members had a very joyous meeting that included a lot of applause. This took 

place only a few hours after the bulldozer retreated from the site leaving tracks in the 
street. One of the New School Board Members had to drive pass this site everyday.
April 25, 2013 - Nothing was ever supposed to be planted here again. Another larger
machine wassent in after the bulldozer did its work. This large piece of machinery had a
large metal heavy drum with3 inch spikes on it. I spoke to the driver and asked him what
he was doing. He told me that he was tillingthe soil. I told him that the machine he was driving is using to compact dirt roads in the south in preparation for black top. He told
me that the machine was used to prepare the parks for grass seed. I assured him that we
were not planting grass seed and asked him to please stop. 

An online Petition was developed in which we asked the Mayor and City Council to designate the over 100 year old garden site a historic site. We collected over 3,000 signatures, mostly from New Jersey residents. A Change.org petition asking the Mayor and the City Council to create and ordinance that would designate the garden a historic site has collected 3,510 signatures. This is the Garden State. We must keep the Garden State Green when and where we can.
May 3, 2013
Rick Whilby, John Khorhian, Norman Gainey, Curtis Caviness
May 10, 2013
May 10, 2013
The first load of topsoil intended to help repair the garden was donated by 
a local landscaping business. Ricardo Whilby of Red Hills Towing
and Better Image, a local Landscaping business.
May 10, 2013
Demonstrates the depth of soil removal
May 22, 2013
May 23, 2013
May 24, 2013
May 28, 2013
May 15 is traditionally the last day of frost in the spring. Tomatoes, peppers
and various other vegetables are planted at this time. Spinach, lettuce, broccoli,
carrots, beets, potatoes and other early vegetables would have been planted
already.
June 7, 2013


June 19, 2013



They tried. That little garden tiller is just
not built to do the job of a harrow disc tiller 
on the back of a real tractor.

Check out how this landscaper's roto tiller is not even going down 3 inches deep. The crust that
 needs breaking is down at least 6 to 8 inches. This simple garden tool is just scraping the top 
of the crust. We really needed a harrow disc to go down deep to turn the soil to aerate it.


MUNICIPAL LAND USE LAW
New Jersey Statutes Annotated Historic Preservation Related Sections
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION • NATURAL & HISTORIC RESOURCES • HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE
http://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/3preserve/mlul_7_07.pdf

C. 40:55D-65.1
HISTORIC DESIGNATIONS IN ZONING ORDINANCES
A zoning ordinance may designate and regulate historic sites or historic districts and provide design criteria and guidelines therefor. Designation and regulation pursuant to this section shall be in addition to such designation and regulation as the zoning ordinance may otherwise require.
Except as provided hereunder, after July 1, 1994, all historic sites and historic districts designated in the zoning ordinance shall be based on identifications in the historic preservation plan element of the master plan. Until July 1, 1994, any such designation may be based on identifications in the historic preservation plan element, the land use plan element or community facilities plan element of the master plan. The governing body may, at any time, adopt, by affirmative vote of a majority of its authorized membership, a zoning ordinance designating one or more historic sites or historic districts that are not based on identifications in the historic preservation plan element, the land use plan element or community facilities plan element, provided the reasons for the action of the governing body are set forth in a resolution and recorded in the minutes of the governing body. L. 1991, c. 199, § 5, eff. July 9, 1991. C.

To be continued......

                                    How are the children?