We’d know whether the crossing guard at the corner of Ridgewood and Bloomfield Aves in Glen Ridge was trying to be the scarecrow… or something else. (Photo by Paul Zalewski). Meanwhile, reader Matthew Dodd recommends a haunted house at 107 Christopher Street, Montclair. "Pretty scary," he says. "A lot of cool decorations."

Speak if you dare…

Who gives the best candy? Is your block worth the trip? A tipster writes that Reigate Road has a scary maze for folks to traverse if they dare.

Share your Baristaville trick or treating recommendations.

Happy Halloween! Only had to look as far as across the street this morning to see some mischief — toilet paper streamers decorating a house. Did Baristaville get hit with a lot of mischief or was it a mild night? Post your report here.

Montclair’s Marcella Van Winden, is trying to stop air pollution by making school bus drivers aware that idling (that lasts longer than three minutes) while waiting to pick up students — is a no-no. From the Montclair Times:

“I just want the bus drivers to turn off their engines when they are waiting for students,” Van Winden said. The mother of three was determined to inform school bus drivers about the adverse health effects associated with the diesel exhaust of an idling bus, which according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), poses one of the greatest public health risks of all air pollutants.

Each year, according to the EPA, there are nearly 400 premature deaths, 16,000 asthma attacks and 1,800 emergency-room visits in New Jersey that are directly related to diesel fuel emissions. “I don’t believe in enforcement, but this is just something we should do to protect our kids,” Van Winden said before signaling one of Renaissance’s school buses to stop so she could give the driver information about the dangers of diesel exhaust. “And it’s illegal for them to idle. I don’t know why they aren’t turning off the engines.”

Since the 1980s, it has been illegal for school buses to idle for more than three consecutive minutes, said Melinda Dower, research scientist in the Diesel Risk Reduction Program of the state Department of Environmental Protec-tion (DEP). On Monday afternoon, as the school buses continued to enter the parking lot to pick up Renaissance students, Van Winden stood by her makeshift sign similar to one sold by the DEP that read “No Idling. It’s the Law.”Most of the school bus drivers listened to Van Winden’s plea, until the last bus of the day entered school grounds and would not shut its engine.

A school official approached the bus and signaled for the driver to turn off the engine, which the bus driver did. As soon as the official stepped off the bus, however, the driver turned the vehicle back on. Six minutes and a busload of students later, that school bus pulled out of Renaissance’s parking lot.

Costume finery from Scot Surbeck (click image for larger picture):

Do tell!

Head over to Roseland’s Environmental Center for canoe trips, Sierra Club demonstrations, games with the beekeepers, garden crafts with master gardeners, nature walks with NJ Audubon, craft projects, Native American stories, pumpkin painting/face, apples cide and more. Oh and it’s FREE.   Wear a costume and join the Halloween parade! Environmental Center, 621 B Eagle Rock Ave. Roseland.

Baristanet reminds you that Pedals for Progress is having a used bike collection tomorrow, from 9 to noon at the Walnut Street train station in Montclair. Pick up some produce at the farmer’s market and help supply folks in developing countries with a means of transportation by bringing down your old bike. Even if it’s not in peak working condition, Pedals for Progress will retool it before shipping it to folks in need. Here’s bulky waste scavenger king Stephane Mortier, with a progress report of his own. Mortier did Baristaville proud by riding a found bike from Montclair for his 60 mile trek in the MS Bike Tour:

I found what I was looking for on your curb: a blue 10 speed Schwinn Le Tour IV. This beautiful race machine, with its "X-tra light" decal on the steel (!) frame had fought rust and grime for 25 years and was screaming for some speed on the bitumen. I dusted it off, greased the chain, slipped into cycling wear borrowed from my neighbor Steve (an ironman whose condition as a new father limits the usage of the aforementioned equipment), then joined the pack of more than 3,000 riders. I sure looked like the odd rider in that sea of recent (read expensive) race machines, but I was loving it. If I do good, then it’s in spite of antiquated equipment; if I don’t keep up, then it becomes the excuse. I rode the blue speed machine from Montclair in five hours including the stops! So, my dear neighbors, thank you for giving your dusty road bike another chance to cut the wind and to carry several Montclairites around Manhattan: a modest engine (yours truly) and the spirit of four people I know who are afflicted with MS. They were pushing me during the uphills.

Even though Mortier is always on the lookout for salvaged bikes, do the man a favor and bring yours directly to a Pedals for Progress collection, rather than the curb. This way, he can park his car in the garage again.