First-ever (201) Restaurant Week

Alas, there are no participating restaurants in Rutherford for some unknown reason, since there are so many good ones here. But, use this as an excuse to patronize your local eateries.

(201) Restaurant Week runs October 4-8 & 11-15

Experience some of Bergen's top restaurants and finest cuisine at an incredible value! Dine out at participating restaurants and take advantage of a prix fixe, three-course lunch for $16.95 and dinner for $29.95. No tickets or passes required. Reservations are recommended, but not required.

A donation will be made to Table to Table, a community-based food rescue program that collects prepared and perishable excess food and delivers it to organizations that feed the hungry in Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Hudson counties.

For more information, please call (201) 646-6954.

Rutherford Mayor to Pay Taxes

Rutherford Mayor, John Hipp, claims he's going to pay his taxes this week.

For those of you who have not been following this story, our Mayor owes $6300 in property taxes that he's not paid this year. I applaud the Mayor for publicly vilifying land developer, EnCap for not paying its $1.6 Mil in property taxes to Rutherford but his attention to that matter does not excuse his own non-payment. He claims that he has not been able to pay because his law practice is struggling while he spends most of his time being the Mayor (a job with a stipend of only $4000 annually). I'm sure EnCap, which paid it's bill 2 weeks ago, had an excuse too. For a man who ran on the platform of financial responsibility, this is absurd.

Rutherford Community Food Pantry Needs List

I know I blogged about the Rutherford Fool Pantry yesterday but I want to make it really easy for readers to donate. Here's what they need and a few things they don't. Please help out if you can. The drop off address is at the bottom.

*Cereal
*Cofee
*Oatmeal, Grits
*Pasta, all varieties
*Mac and Cheese
*Canned clams and clam sauce
*Hearty Soups, NO Chicken Noodle
*Canned Fruit, pineapple, fruit cocktail, peaches
*Pasta sauce, Canned Tomatoes
*Jelly, Peanut Butter
*Shaving cream and Razors
*Baby Diapers size: Newborn, 1, 4, and 5
Canned Corn
Iced tea mix
Cookies
Crackers
Canned Beets, Spinach, Mushrooms, Peas and Carrots
Pancake mixes and Syrup
Cake Mixes
Jello and Pudding boxes
Condiments: mustard, mayo, salad dressing, oil, vinegar, bread crumbs, ketchup
Rice, white, brown, Spanish
Tissues, toilet tissue and paper towels
Laundry detergent
Bar Soap, Deodorant
Shampoo, conditioner
Bath powder
Toothpaste
NO Baked Beans or Pork and Beans
NO Peas
NO Green beans
NO Baby Food or Formula
NO Cranberry Sauce
NO Canned Beans
*Please remember we cannot accept expired food.

DROP OFF:
Rutherford Social Services
Borough Hall
176 Park Ave.
Rutherford, NJ
201-460-3028
rutherfordcfp@aol.com

Rutherford Food Pantry seeking donations

Thanks to the good people at (201) Daily....
and courtesy of ever vigilant friend, John

Rutherford Food Pantry seeking donations
Police, volunteers and the mayor helped unload a truck full of food for the Rutherford Food Pantry last Friday. Although the pantry workers make an emergency trip to a state-run pantry in Hillsdale that day, the pantry located in borough hall is desperately seeking donations of food and other items.

The pantry has seen a sharp increase in families needing to "shop" at the pantry says volunteer Jackie Bunker-Lohrenz, adding that as of last Wednesday pantry shelves were almost bare. Clients are now numbered at more than 100.

If you would like to donate, please see the list of items needed at rutherford-nj.com/america.asp#foodlist. Donations can be dropped off 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If the pantry is not open, bags or boxes can be left outside the door.

Rutherford Residents Can Pay Taxes Online

Maybe the Mayor should take note!

From the website:
The Borough of Rutherford will allow residents to pay their taxes online beginning August 3, 2009. The Borough council approved this measure as a convenience to residents who may want to avail themselves of this program.

Visa and MasterCard payments will be allowed through a link on the Borough’s website. This is offered as an option to residents who will still be able to pay by cash or check either in person at Borough Hall or by mail.

For those who wish to take advantage of this option there will be a 2.59 percent fee that will be based on the amount of the tax payment. In a traditional retail situation this fee would be absorbed by the merchant or service provider. A municipality cannot absorb this fee. If the taxes are delinquent the taxpayer must call the Tax Office for the exact amount due as interest is calculated on a per diem basis. That number is 201-460-3005.

http://www.rutherford-nj.com/Departments/taxcollector.asp

Overheard in Rutherford

Thanks to Elisabeth, who complied this list:

Borgism (bôrg´iz ǝm) n. thought stated while hanging with the Rutherford Borg, removed from its original context for comic effect.


1. I'm not quite young enough to be an aphid.

2. He used to like me. He used to like a lot of guys. Then he got married.

3. Get it off me!! Get it off me!!

4. I'm going to slow down the car -- you just get the hell out.

5. I've never stolen a baby. Not once.

6. Just put them in a padded room and let them knock themselves off the walls.

7. I'll feel better when there's a toilet.

8. I brought some lube!

9. You can actually do something for him which is murder three people.

10. I didn't know I looked that funny.

11. I love the bats because I've only been bitten once.

12. Can you visual-Earth the baby?

13. I killed him, and his successor was crazy.

14. Is this some kind of weird cougar terminology?

15. I have this problem with being logical.

16. The way you're going to do it is stupid and horrible and will lead you to death.

17. Oh, young hussy like you, of course you know his number!

18. I've come here to eat.

19. Guys, it's 3:00 in the morning. I'd like to get back to my hotel. Can we just finish this business and I'll be on my way?

Outlet Style

When I go to Maine I always stop at the LL Bean headquarters in Freeport. I also like to explore the other shops there and the outlets. That is another thing I can ABSOLUTELY do here in NJ. Secaucus is under 6 miles from Rutherford is the original outlet center. When I was a kid the stores were actual warehouse shops, selling off seconds and last seasons stored goods. Now things are more upscale, which is both good and bad. There's a heck of a lot of shopping there:

When I visit Maine I love to hike and enjoy the outdoors. On recent trips, I've toured the Penobscot Bay islands by boat, seen bald eagles on Mount Desert Islands and gone on various hikes. I could do similar things locally but I never do these things at home. I should, there are plenty of opportunities. Here are two examples:

The NJ Meadowlands Commission offers guided boat tours of the 30+ miles of wetlands bordering the Hackensack RIver, short hikes along the meadowlands, and strolling and admiring the wildflowers in their various parks.

The closest to Rutherford is the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission Environmental Center is an 87-acre impoundment and 10 acres of park land. There is a boardwalk nature trail (made of recycled plastic boards) through the meadowlands, with bird blinds. Also, a nature center, "Trash Museum", and panoramic views of the wetlands. 2 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, - Tel: 201 460-8300



Branch Brook Park offers 359+ cares of open meadowland and small patches of woodland on gently rolling terrain.It boasts over 2,000 cherry trees, a larger number and variety than the famous Washington, Each year the park hosts a Cherry Blossom Festival that attracts over 10,000 people a day.



What are your favorite outdoor activities around here?

Google Classic

I had some things in mind for my next entry and, of course, I'm fact-checking them using Google. How did we live with out internet searches? Oh, yeah, the library. I don't know the origin of this image but I'm reposting it from http://wideopenspaces.squarespace.com/

The Maine Idea

I apologize for the "radio silence" and promise I've not been playing with the Wii this entire time (6 days). I've been in Maine for some of it. I love Maine - the natural beauty, the quiet, the locavore food, the attitude, the shops. Returning from this visit I decide to think about some of the things I do while I'm in Maine and find similar activities locally, around Rutherford. I'll post some ideas today, so check back!