Kip Center is home to the biggest losers

(by Michael Lamendola - July 01, 2009)

There are 26 big losers in Rutherford; however, if you were to talk to any one of them, they'll tell you they are actually winners. Lower blood pressure and cholesterol and more energy is what they won.

Beginning 17 weeks ago, staff and members of the Kip Center decided that it would be a good idea to solicit Weight Watchers and have the weight loss organization come on site. For seniors, it would be ideal as many rely on buses and busy family members to just get around the area, so trips to Weight Watchers are usually out of the question.

"I recently quit smoking and I gained some weight. Now, I'm basically a lifetime member. Seniors really never paid much attention to fitness or their weight, but nowadays, they are much more attuned about it, so I thought it would be great to have them come in," said Cathy Baviello, program director at the center.

Baviello said she encountered some trouble at first. Weight Watchers usually only goes on location for meetings and to deliver its program to corporations. They claimed Kip wasn't a corporation, but after some prying and pleading her case that the seniors both wanted and needed the program but didn't have the resources to go out to a Weight Watchers location, the company said if Baviello could get 20 participants together and pre-pay, they would come out. She got 25.

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Captain victim of bad spider bite

(by Corey Klein - July 01, 2009)

Wetter weather gives rise in bugs

Summer has arrived and a spate of wet weather brings with it a host of creepy crawlers. Recently, Captain Hugh Carola from the Hackensack Riverkeeper had a run-in with one such creature.

On June 18, he noticed a bug bite on his leg. It was the size of an "old school silver dollar and mildly itchy". The next night, he became ill with a low grade fever and the swelling grew to eight inches across. His fever hovered around 101 degrees for four full days.

After two trips to the doctor he was diagnosed with having been bitten by a wolf spider. The fever was an allergic reaction to the bite. He was prescribed antibiotics and his doctor was glad to see the bite did no tissue damage to his leg. It only left a mark.

Carola, who takes children and adults alike on wildlife tours of the Meadowlands, said the bite is simply par for the course in his line of work. "It's somewhat of an occupational hazard for people that are around boats and water," he said.

However, he does not know when he was bit. "It might've happened in my house and not on the boat," he added.

Most wolf spiders prefer moist areas like docks, boats, wharfs and piers, but wet weather could lead some to move indoors. Typically, spider bites occur when a person is asleep and a spider comes nearby. Rolling over or moving around in your sleep could alarm a spider. "It feels threatened by your movement and it gets you," he said.

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Birthday boy gifts it forward

(by Michael Lamendola- July 01, 2009)

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Gives up presents to area sick children

At first glance, Dustin DeRado’s 10th birthday party looked like any other. As screaming children packed the DeRado’s Carlstadt home and yard last week, games, snacks and jubilance were abound…and so were the gifts. But these gifts weren’t for Dustin at all, something most 10-year-olds would have a fit about. But Dustin donated them to children, he says, who need them a lot more than he does.

The gifts are going to the Tomorrows Children’s Fund at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) for those who are confined to a hospital with ailments ranging from rare blood disorders to cancer. Many of the parents of those children are strapped for cash due to medical treatment costs and donations provided to the Tomorrows Children’s Fund are something needed on a daily basis to bring a little joy to the lives of the hundreds of kids that day in and day out courageously battle their diseases. Absent from their lives are playing with friends, going to school, catching a movie or even playing sports.

"A few months ago, Dustin talked about wanting a cell phone. I said it’s expensive and he’s probably not old enough to have one and then I just thought that if you want something that expensive, first you should do something for someone else," said Janelle DeRado, Dustin’s mother. "I thought about paying it forward and started to do searches on the Internet. I wanted to find something where he could help children so he could relate."

Janelle began her search with such keywords as "pay it forward" and soon came across the Web site Helpothers.org, a site with forums on charitable giving and acts of kindness. Hackensack University Medical Center appeared and a call there referred her to the Tomorrows Children’s Fund. Janelle informed the hospital of her plans and the officials there were elated. Ironically, selling the idea of a "Gift It Forward" party was a little confusing to the invitees.

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Exhibit reveals great lengths in getting hitched

(by Michael Lamendola - July 01, 2009)

Whether you're in India, Italy, Poland, China or the United States, there's one constant tradition that could have any woman of any ethnicity, race or religion just as elated as the thought of spending the rest of her life with the man she loves. It's the wedding, everything from the planning of the ceremony and picking out its location to donning the magical dress or gown that dreams are made of.

The Lyndhurst Historical Society realizes the importance of the special day and has just unveiled a new exhibit at the Little Red Schoolhouse that details the extravagance and splendor of the bride on her day. The exhibit, "Brides around the World", not only puts the glitz and glamour of the bride-to-be on display, but delves into the diversity of what weddings entail around the world, from the traditional sari, the gown worn in Indian culture, to the traditional white gown worn in the United States. But most importantly, the stories behind the gowns, the pictures, the invitations and the wedding gifts on display tell the lengths people will go to say "I do", some traveling thousands of miles to be with the man they love, others braving constant wartime threats of violence in order to be man and wife.

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