By Nancy Morehouse

Betty, Veronica, Archie, and Jughead.  These names surely ring a bell for the original Archie comic-reading generation, but they are beginning to resonate with today’s youth through comic book fairs, the innovation of Archie Comics co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit.

Comic Book Fairs is a division of Archie Comics that helps schools around the United States, Canada, and beyond to fundraise and promote literacy.  Ms. Silberkleit is an advocate for the arts in education and believes that students can be educated through comic books about social issues such as health and wellness and bullying.

A Bergen County native, born in Englewood, Ms. Silberkleit took over the role of Archie Comics co-CEO two years ago after her husband, Michael Silberkleit, passed away.  She admits to not having a clue what she was doing at first. “I had to take a great big deep breath and try to understand. I was not a comic book reader,” she said. However, she had been a teacher for over 20 years, and knew there was a market for comic books in schools that Archie had not yet tapped.

“As a teacher, I know we want our kids to learn, and in order to learn, you have to be a very accomplished reader. [As a teacher,] I remembered kids always gravitating towards the graphic novels,” Ms. Silberkleit said. She then came up with comic book fairs as a way for schools to raise money (as she says, “Comic book fairs put the fun in fundraising”) and they were launched last December.

On Tuesday, June 7, Ms. Silberkleit made an appearance at a comic book fair at Memorial School in Paramus where she had taught art before she became Archie’s co-CEO.  “We have had two very successful comic book fairs in the last two years, both sponsored by Archie Comics,” said Marie Creste, the school librarian. “Nancy Silberkleit first proposed the idea, and is extremely helpful and accommodating to work with. Because of the generous 40% that Archie gives back, it is really a win/win for us.”

Although fundraising is part of the purpose of the comic book fairs, Ms. Creste points out that the meaning is much deeper for her, and for her students. “I think [the fair] helps those who may be reluctant to wholeheartedly accept this genre as a legitimate form of literature,” she said. “I agree with Nancy Silberkleit that ‘Comics + Children = Reading.’” She referenced one of her Rutger’s Library School professors, Carol Gordon who did research about providing choices, which is exactly what Ms. Creste strives to do in her library. “I was heartened to see the results of [Ms. Gordon’s] Delaware research study with its clear-cut message about how important it is… to allow students to read what they are interested in reading, especially in the summer and as leisure reading during the school year.”

The event at Memorial school was a two-day affair, and was popular among students, including Maryalice Perezzo’s third grade class. As her students rushed in to pick up comic books, their excitement could be seen and heard. Some students could even say that this wasn’t the first time they had seen Archie comics, and that they had their parents’ at home. Other students were sharing with their friends and asking to put the comics on hold so they could buy them tomorrow.

The comic book fair includes the classic Archie, Veronic, Betty and Jughead comics, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and all the necessary posters and signs to create “the necessary look.” Educators can also further their involvement by utilizing lesson plans that integrate comics available on the Comic Book Fair website.

Along with all the classic comics, Archie comics have a new initiative to educate students on chronic health issues such as obesity and Crohn’s disease. The company is working to find various organizations that support awareness of other health issues such as acne, diabetes, and asthma in order to help make understanding these issues more comfortable and comprehensible for children and young adults.

To learn more about comic book fairs, visit www.comicbookfairs.com and www.archicomics.com.

ENGLEWOOD – The annual Englewood Memorial Day ceremony and parade will take place on Monday, May 30 to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The line up time 9:30 a.m., followed by the ceremony at 10 a.m. and then followed immediately by the parade.

The route of the parade is from the Soldiers Monument area, East on Palisade Ave., turning left on Dean Street, ending at Veterans Memorial Park. In case of rain, the ceremony will take place at the Bergen PAC Theatre on North Van Brunt Street at 10 a.m.

In attendance will be the two Grand Marshals Bravell M. Nesbitt, Jr., U.S. Army 1955-1958 with Honor and Richard Krane, U.S. Army 1957-1959 with Honor.

Also in participation are six artillery and colonial groups, Englewood Police & Fire Department, Paramedics, Englewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Englewood Churches, Korean Community Church, Korean Seniors, “Friend of Grace” Salvation Army, Caribbean Committee, Trinidad Steel Band, Shiloh Lodge, Ideal Lodge of Elks and Temple, Boy Scouts, Youth Groups, Blue Chip chorus, and more.

The town asks that everyone display the flag on Memorial Day weekend.

For more information, call Olga Mosciaro, organizer of patriotic events.

By Nancy Morehouse

NEWARK – Every 45 seconds, a child dies of malaria in Africa even though the disease is preventable. With World Malaria Day just around the corner, the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign hosted an interactive afternoon of malaria education on Fri., April 15 at the Boys and Girls Club of Newark.

“It never fails to be fantastic,” said Danielle Garrahan, associate director of Nothing But Nets. “But the Boys and Girls Club really did their homework.  The fact that they know so much about malaria is awesome.”

The Club was presented with an award for their hard work in raising $3,000 to send bed nets to Africa to prevent malaria outbreaks. The children at the Boys and Girls club were then educated about the disease, prevention, and statistics while performing skits and playing games such as freeze tag, soccer, and basketball.  They also had artwork on display to raise awareness about the disease.

The Boys and Girls club members had been involved in learning about malaria prevention and engaged in raising money for nets in weeks leading up to the event.  “Malaria is one of our biggest causes,” said Salma Muro, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club on Newark. “I learned a lot about it during my first visit here two and a half years ago.” At one point, the Club raised over $10,000 for nets.

UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria Ray Chambers, a Newark native and contributor to the Club spoke at the opening and was joined by Dwayne DeRosario of the New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer team, Kevin Vernimb and Alexandra Taylor, Nothing But Nets grassroots champions, and others.

Mr. DeRosario is a huge supporter of the campaign. After having the opportunity to visit Mali and see the cause and effect first hand, it is his passion to spread the message and a difference. “In here, the age is similar to the kids that [malaria] affects,” he said. “It is important to let kids know and be aware of how other kids are living.  It gives them a broader perspective of the world.”

World Malaria Day is Mon., April 25.  For more information about malaria or the Nothing But Nets campaign, visit www.nothingbutnets.com.

By Victor M. Polce, Mayor of Old Tappan

When I first took office as Mayor of Old Tappan on January 1, 2000, the council and I were concerned with development, continuing the course of fiscal responsibility engineered by our previous mayors and councils, and trying to figure out how we were going to increase volunteerism in our wonderful community.

Victor M. Polce

We succeeded in keeping development in check with a very protective Planning Board, we worked with our Department heads to ensure that our budgets were not only viewed in the present, but with an eye towards the future, and we tried to encourage more residents to volunteer their time and efforts to keeping Old Tappan great.

We are grateful for those who have devoted so much time and effort for their community, and many of them have been duly recognized with proclamations and certificates of appreciation over the years.  I thank them all for their service, and would encourage others to get involved to help us make a difference in this town.

As the Mayor of Old Tappan and a partner in both the Northern Valley Mayor’s Association and the Pascack Valley Mayor’s Association, we are working together to evaluate and implement shared services agreements, which make good sense for everyone involved.  We have never, nor will we, look at short-term solutions that will not stand the test of time. Rather, the towns that we “partner with” share our values and concerns that what we do is resident friendly, and fiscally prudent.  Every community in the Pascack and Northern Valley has partnered with others (they all do a great job) and our commitment to shared services has never been stronger.

The one constant in life, is change. Those who can anticipate change, and the impact it will have now and in the future, will always view change as opportunity.

Currently we are investing in alternative energy while reducing our dependence on electricity by creating our own electricity through solar power. At the same time, we are retrofitting several of our building’s lighting and HVAC systems to further reduce costs. We are trying to make our little corner of the world greener, while reducing costs for our residents.

I encourage everyone to attend their town’s council meetings with an eye towards being a part of the solution, rather than the problem.  Everyone of us needs and desire your input. Thank you.

By Nancy Morehouse

WASHINGTON – Congress has put a lot of pressure on the United Nations in the past month, saying it needs to implement reforms before the United States pays its dues in full, calling it “smart withholding.”

On Thursday, April 7, Chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), delivered a statement at a hearing on UN reform with U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, explaining that, although the UN’s budget has more than doubled in the past decade, its transparency, accountability, and effectiveness have not increased in proportion.

“The absence of structural reforms has real consequences. We appreciate the limited, tactical victories that the U.S. and other nations won at the Council’s most recent session,” said Rep. Ros-Lehtinen. “But that is just not enough. Most of us want a more accountable and effective U.N. I believe the way to achieve that is to require ‘reform first, pay later.’”

However, there are many activist organizations vying for the UN, hoping to assure that the United States does not fall back into arrears.

“If we don’t pay our dues for the UN, it makes it very difficult [for us] to lead in the UN” said Peter Yeo, Vice President for Public Policy and Public Affairs at the United Nations Foundation in a phone interview earlier this month. “How can we expect other countries to be in coalition with us if we don’t pay our dues?”

He acknowledges that there is a budgetary issue to be dealt with. “Everyone has to tighten their belts… and the UN is willing to do its share in terms of cutting their losses,” he said.

In a testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Jan. 25, Mr. Yeo provided a long list of ongoing UN projects in places like Cote d’Ivoire, South Sudan, and Iran, and the accomplishments of UN subsidies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The UN is also aiding in more recent foreign causes in Afghanistan, Libya, and Japan.

“Progress will not happen without strong U.S. engagement and leadership,” he said. “And that means we must pay our dues on time, in full, and without threats of withholding our contribution.”

The UN provides many jobs in the NY/ NJ area, as many of the contractors employed for the $1.4 billion renovation of the United Nations headquarters in New York City are from the metropolitan area and northern New Jersey.

This is not to mention the jobs that the UN provides internally, “Americans that work at the UN and the myriad of agencies do amazing work on behalf of the world’s poor and behalf of the people around the world struck by humanitarian,” said Mr. Yeo. “These workers play a vitally important role that in American security.”

UN advocates anticipate that Rep. Ros-Lehtinen will move forward with legislation in the next couple of weeks  when congress is back in session.

To view Mr. Yeo’s testimony, and more information on the UN Foundation and Better World Campaign, visit www.betterworldcampaign.org. For information on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s statement, visit foreignaffairs.house.gov.

There are only a few days left to purchase tickets for the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center Foundation’s Black Tie Gala on Saturday, April 30 at Pier Sixty, New York City.

This year, the medical center is honoring Jay C. Nadel, Chairman of the Hospital Board.  Guests will also enjoy entertainment by comedian Howie Mandel.

So far, $1 million has been raised, making this the most successful Gala yet!

For further information or to purchase tickets, please call the Foundation at 201-894-3725.

By Nancy Morehouse

TENAFLY – The borough council voted in favor of a resolution rejecting NJ Transit rail service in the community at a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

The borough sent the resolution (5-1 in favor) along with a letter from Mayor Peter Rustin to Governor Chris Christie explaining that the voters of Tenafly (on Election Day last year) voted against the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) expansion that would run through the community.

He further explained that the borough has been waiting for over five years for the delivery of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).  He also states the town has spent more than $50,000 on conducting studies and planning how the town with be able to deal with any potential changes the plan may bring.

“The citizens of Tenafly have made it clear that any plan to bring mass transit to our town must fully consider the needs of our community and its impact on our town,” wrote Mr. Rustin. “Furthermore, NJ Transit must work more closely with Borough officials to gain their support for any subsequent project.”

The mayor expects to have a response within the month.

On Sat., March 12, the Closter Elks participated in the 4^th Annual Elks Miracle Plunge in Belmar to support Cooley’s Anemia Foundation and Elks Camp Moore. From left are Devon Sampson, Sal Wanderlingh, and Steve Richard.  Devon Sampson raised over $1,500.  In total, over $70,000 was raised for the charitable organizations.

By Douglas E. Hall

When you think about it, serving the public in an elected office really is a tough job.  I’d say it’s more so when one considers this work on a municipal level.

Douglas E. Hall

Starting at the top, being president of the United States may be the toughest job around, but the president has lots of help and you’re really, for the most part, protected from direct contact with all the folks who voted for you, or voted against you.

That is true to a lesser degree as one considers holding public office on a Congressional level, a state level, county level and finally on a municipal level.  There on the municipal level, a Mayor, such as Nancy Merse of Edgewater, until her death on Thursday, March 10, gave her attention to supporters and detractors each and every time she conducted a meeting of the Borough Council.

Mayor Merse did it with skill, class and style and an amazing amount of patience with the most trivial or wrong-headed complainer.

Consider this, on top of the many pressures of this job; Mayor did it all while waging a lengthy battle with cancer that included major surgery.

Yet she was there to do, as best she could, her sworn duty to carry out the oath of her office and lead the affairs of the Borough of Edgewater through what ever challenges came up.

The high points of her administration were the resumption of regular ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan and the construction of a new borough Hall.

I’m not the first one to say it’s a pity the mayor did not get to participate in the opening of the new Borough Hall, which should be completed in a matter of weeks.  But it truly is a pity.

Nancy Merse

Now in the case of the ferry, this is a good illustration that the Mayor put the wishes of the people before her own thoughts on a matter.

For some may well remember that Mayor Merse, as a Borough Council member, did not initially support the acquisition of the Edgewater Marina, nor did she support the resumption of ferry service after an absence of 50 years.

But after the voters supported ferry service in a non-binding referendum, she wholeheartedly worked to make new ferry service to New York a reality.

The borough-owned marina has become an asset to the town, and the morning and evening ferry service has been a winner with commuters.  Not only did Mayor Merse provide shuttle bus service from the ferry to most of the Edgewater commuters to avoid the question of parking at the marina and increased traffic congestion, but she worked out arrangements with Fort Lee and Cliffside Park to have commuters from those towns brought to and from the ferries each day.  Cliffside Park Mayor Gerald Calabrese was among those who were there at her well-attended funeral at the Church of the Rosary on Monday, March 14.

There was a good turnout among the residents as well as current and former borough officials.  I feel it was a mistaken slight that there were no officials from the county, state or federal level at her funeral.

But Mayor Merse probably would not have minded.  Though she served the public and her town for 38 years, Mayor Merse was a humble, down-to-earth woman who sought not personal aggrandizement.

Anyone who even knew her slightly wound up calling her, Nancy, not Mayor or Mrs. Merse.

She was one-of-a-kind, and her steady hand on the tiller of the borough through rough seas or calm will be missed.  She was the first woman to serve as mayor of Edgewater with her exemplary service, which began on the Board of Education in 1973 and took her to the Borough Council in 1979 and the office of mayor in 2002. She should not be the last woman to serve as mayor of Edgewater.

Mayor Merse loved Edgewater and Edgewater loved her.  We miss her and will in the days ahead.