Summer is drawing to a close and this has been a dizzying week for news. Towns, elected officials and deer have been in the spotlight. Not all of it was good. Hence the Saturday edition of the Friday Round Up
Saddle River
Deer Cull The mayor and council met on Monday, with protests before, second one of the week. In a heated meeting concerned residents are still trying to get answers of the location, days and times it will occur. No answers were given – no surprise there. Many residents are very upset that there is little information and despite being given assurances in earlier meetings that SR residents will get a letter informing them – no one actually has.
Additionally many SR residents are reporting seeing a significant drop in deer sightings in the past week and are questioning whether the cull has started. With clear indifference to the town’s residents the council refuses to answer the question. And drivers need to be particularly cautious – deer run up to 3 miles without a clear kill. If SR has no hunting insurance and your car is damaged guess who will pay?
An additional point to note: at the meeting during questioning about the hunt the council defended their position stating it came from the state and suggested those opposed take it up with them as it was the state’s policy, not SR.
Upper Saddle River
Toll Brothers at Apple Ridge continue to dump brown water, and the residents still question why this is allowed when residents own pumping of anything results in fines. Apparently there is a loophole somewhere. They also are still waiting for testing of the waters. The state agencies that are involved are moving at a glacial speed.
Pollitics. With a local election looming the Democratic candidates held a information session at the monthly Dems meeting to clarify their platform – more to come. The Republicans had also met previously – there was no follow up on that meeting so no report here.
Town Wide Garage Sale Organized by the Women’s Club of Upper Saddle River (Application date has just passed). New this year tables will be set up at the firehouse. Maps will be available on the website the morning of the sale.
Mahwah
Legal A settlement was reached with the state regarding the pending lawsuit. The town is on ‘probation’ for 4 years. Residents have read with dismay the smearing and depiction of their town in the press and finger pointing between the mayor and council. More to come.
Deer At the meeting on Thursday night the topic of deer was discussed and the meeting was informed that hunting has been allowed for a long time – on park land and certain private properties (with permitting?). Many residents were unaware of this and wanted more information.
Cell tower Many residents were in attendance for this portion of the meeting looking for information on it and where the location will be. Residents are very concerned with the location. Discussions are ongoing.
Toll Brothers at Orchard Ridge The council discussed with Boswell Engineering about testing of water and having results in written form from DEP. President Councilman Robert Hermansen said he will be looking into getting answers.
Mahwah Day Today!!! Fun for all. Parade, rides, games, food, fireworks in the evenings. There will be a Meet The Candidates at the Mahwah Strong booth and this fun day is open to all. Center For Food Action will be accepting food donations to help struggling local residents and the troops. Go support Mahwah!!
There is a wide variety of related animals that fall into the realm of “deer, incl. brown deer, red deer, white deer, mule deer, elk, caribou/reindeer, moose (also called “elk in some places), etc. The exceptional feature of the caribou/reindeer is that both the adult males and the females have antlers, but among the other species of deer, only the males have these, and they use them mostly for fighting with one another during the “rutting season. The caribou/reindeer have a more utilitarian use for antlers: they are useful for digging up food from the regions of the tundra, as well as for self-defense. There were no such similar animals that lived on New Zealand, but the European settlers wanted something to go hunting for (an eating), so they introduced species of deer from Great Britain into the wild on New Zealand, and those wild animals still live there. In Australia, there are nonmarsupial animals that have lived there for a long time now: horses, camels, dogs (esp. the dingo), cattle, sheep, goats, and cats.