A look back at Ledger articles from days gone by
"If at first you don’t succeed, try again," is the reason Councilman Joseph Dalle Pazze gave for again placing on the Lawrence Township Council agenda a resolution removing debate on international and nation issues from teh Council meetings.
"I understand that there are several citizens who plan to bring resolutions on international matters before the Council," he explained yesterday, "and I tried to explain to them that we have very busy agenda and have a lot to do. They told me they would wait to see if the resolution passed the time."
The resolution, which is identical to the resolution previously defeated by Council for lack of a second, calls for the establishment of "public forums" for the debate of controversial international issues and notes that the Council meetings are not the appropriate place for such discussions. (Wednesday, Aug. 5, 1970)
A title search has disclosed that the State Department of Defense does not have the legal title to Jasper Avenue and therefore "cannot pave a street they do not own," Planning Board Attorney Joseph Stonaker said yesterday.
Mr. Stonaker was authorized two weeks ago to conduct a title search on the so-called "paper street," to determine if the state could pave it and use it as a relief exit for traffic from the 112th Field Artillery.
The request came after Councilman and Planning Board member Joseph Dalle Pazze raised the question of why the Planning Board had not been informed of the state’s proposed use of the street.
The title search, Mr. Stonaker explained, indicated that the ownership of the street is in fact shared, half and half, by the two adjoining property owners, subject to the public rights resting in the municipality. (Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1970)
Municipal Manager George Gottuso presented Council with a preliminary report Monday night detailing $155,000 in flood damages to municipal facilities, roadways, service organizations.
Salaries and operating costs are directly reimbursable by the Federal Government, he said, and Council is expected to pass an emergency appropriation at tonight’s meeting to cover those costs until the reimbursements come through.
So far about $34,000 worth of damage has been surveyed by the Federal Disaster team through the manager’s office, he reported. Another team is coming this week and next week to survey the remaining damage. The manager said he hopes between 80 and 90 percent of the damage will be reimbursed by the Federal Government. (Wednesday, Aug. 6, 1975)
Residents in the neighborhood of the Saturn Chemicals, Inc. face minimal dangers posed by the company’s presence, according to Township Manager George Gottuso.
People living near the New York Avenue plant became concerned about possible hazards of living so near to the chemical company when one of the plant’s storage tanks was struck by lightning during a recent severe thunderstorm, releasing toxic vapors.
The 10,000 gallon tank containing styrene was about three-quarters full, a company report said, when it was struck late on July 22, setting off a chemical reaction which released the vapors through a safety valve.
Concentrations of the gas were below harmful levels, however, according to the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Protection. (Wednesday, Aug. 6, 1980)
One Wednesday morning in 1941 the Rev. Clinton J. Carter, pastor for First Baptist Church of Eggerts Crossing Road, had a calling.
"Nothing would go right until I accepted the calling," the Rev. Carter said reflecting on that one moment that changed the course of his life.
He knew it was coming. He felt lonely, felt a longing and would find himself preaching over the Scriptures while working on a farm in his hometown in Alabama.
"I accepted the challenge God wanted me to do," said the 70-year-old minister.
And he never regrets the challenge.
He has been pastor of First Baptist on Hillcrest Avenue since 1960; it was then called New Hope Baptist Church. An anniversary celebration commemorating 25 years recently was held at the Lawrence Neighborhood Center. (Friday, Aug. 2, 1985)
Cranbury students will remain in Lawrence schools according to a recommendation made by an administrative law judge Thursday.
The case involves a five-year sending-receiving agreement begun June 29, 1978 to send Cranbury ninth- through 12th-grade students to Lawrence junior and senior high schools.
However, in the third year of that agreement, 1981, Cranbury decided to terminate the Cranbury-Lawrence relationship and send the students to Princeton schools. The Cranbury board recommended a phased withdrawal from Lawrence schools beginning with the ninth-grade students switching to Princeton High during the first year of the transition.
Administrative Law Judge Beatrice S. Tylutki concluded that the Cranbury board did not demonstrate there was "good and sufficient reasons" to send its students to Princeton High School. She also concluded Cranbury failed to show there would be no "adverse impact" on Lawrence if Cranbury students were taken out of Lawrence schools. (Tuesday, Aug. 6, 1985)
Veterans down at the American Legion Hall Post 414 are supportive of President George Bush’s response to Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait and potential invasion of Saudi Arabia.
"I think he’s totally right. We can’t let them step on our toes," said Bob Simonelli, commander of Post 414, referring to the president’s decision to deploy American troops in Saudi Arabia. Although he agrees with President Bush’s decision, Mr. Simonelli is aware of its implications.
"I have a son that age," he explained, who would fight if the draft were reinstated but that’s a scenario Mr. Simonelli hopes won’t be realized. "I don’t particularly care for another war. We could do without it. I hope we don’t have one," he emphasized.
Jimmy Calderone, a disabled veteran of World War II, is more explicit. "I think we shoud go in there and kick their asses," he barked. The U.S. should do whatever is necessary, he said, to show Iraq and its president, Saddam Hussein, who is boss. On a more subdued note, he added "there’s always a possibility of avoiding any conflict and it would be in the best interest of the American people." But, he said, we can’t sit back and "let these people tell us garbage." Ultimately, however, he concluded, "whatever President Bush decides, we’ll go along with." (Friday, Aug. 10, 1990)
Thick, black smoke from an electrical fire billowed through the roof and windows of The Jigger Shop on Main Street Friday morning at 3:40, according to Patrolmen Mark Ubry and Doug Drummond who were responding to an anonymous call about the sound of broken glass.
"We figured it was a motor vehicle accident," Patrolman Ubry said. Instead, when they arrived on the scene the police found a fire. The already intense heat of the blaze had blown out the first floor windows, accounting for the sounds of breaking glass. Patrolman Tom Maple requested fire trucks and then tried to get into the second floor apartment, thinking there might be tenants inside.
As it turned out, the former tenants – Dale and Candice Jensen – had moved out the day before. Mr. Jensen had been teaching at The Lawrenceville School since 1986 but had taken a position at Brown University for September. "We tried to find out if someone was in there (the apartment). A neighbor came out and said they (the tenants) had moved out yesterday morning. They were lucky," noted Officer Ubry. So was everyone else, in fact. There was no one in the building at the time and none of the firemen were injured. (Tuesday, Aug. 14, 1990)
A 15-year-old Ewing boy was killed Friday afternoon when he inexplicably rode his bicycle at high speed from a driveway at the Trenton Farmer’s Market into oncoming traffic on Spruce Street.
Declared dead at the scene was Nicholas Latham of Stout Avenue, Ewing, who would have turned 16 next month and was about to enter 11th grade at Ewing High School. Police said he was struck by a Ford Bronco head-on, propelled in the air and then was struck by a Chevrolet Blazer headed in the opposite direction. He was declared dead at the scene.
Although he was not carrying any identification, he was identified at the scene by an employee of the nearby Laneco store who recognized the boy’s Huffy bicycle after hearing the accident. After he made a visual confirmation, police notified the boy’s parents.
No charges were filed against the drivers. (Thursday, Aug. 17, 1995)
Compiled by T.J. Furman from the pages of The Lawrence Ledger from 1970 to 1995.