EMERSON—A first grader from Memorial School got a day as Mayor on May 16 and then honored by a mayoral proclamation — from Mayor Danielle DiPaola — celebrating his accomplishment.
DiPaola shared the mayoral spotlight, and responsibilities, with her “Mayor For A Day” on May 16 and then proclaimed May 17 as first grader Nicholas Aramini Mayor For A Day day.
Nicholas was picked up from Memorial School on May 16 in a borough vehicle driven by DPW Superintendent Perry Solimando.
Officials told Pascack Press that Mayor Nicholas inspected the DPW facility and was given a ride in a dump truck. The truck took Nicholas to the fire department, where he got a tour from chief Tom Carlos and then rode in a fire engine with his father.
Following that, the young mayor came to Borough Hall, where he spent part of the day in his office, signing memoranda, eating doughnuts, drinking seltzer and feasting on an ice cream sundae.
He then toured the Police Department with Captain Mark Savino and met several sergeants and officers. He was then escorted to school in a police vehicle and greeted his friends at the school’s dismissal.
As mayor of “the Family Town,” Nicholas also toured Borough Hall, visiting administrative offices, learning about government procedures, and especially enjoying perusing books of council meeting minutes, including one from the year he was born.
After a break, Nicholas returned to Borough Hall, where he was sworn into office as Mayor for a Day and opened the May 16 council meeting, asking his parents to lead the pledge of allegiance. He read a proclamation granting his peers at Memorial School a homework pass.
“Mayor Aramini enjoyed his day with borough staff and looks forward to returning to visit in the future,” DiPaola told Pascack Press.
Memory Garden Reopens
Later in the meeting, DiPaola said that residents interested in placing a memorial paving stone in the public library’s Memory Garden should contact the borough. The bricks will be printed toward the end of summer and then placed back into the Memory Garden. “We’ve done it periodically but there are many people who have been asking me about it lately,” said DiPaola.
The garden was part of an Eagle Project completed in 2016 by Franklin Praschil, with major fundraising and other support from the police department.