Edition of Nov. 9
Why tenure?
To the editor:
On Nov. 6, Pennington Borough Council discussed granting tenure to the Public Works director. I am puzzled as to the wisdom, both short- and long-term, of this step.
At a time when public institutions are moving away from tenure, why would Pennington renew it? Tenure was created to allow proven but vulnerable public servants like teachers to do their job in the face of possible mood shifts or extremism among the taxpayers. Eventually, in public education, tenure was adopted as a teacher’s right, then it spilled over into school administration.
Once taken for granted, tenure risked contradicting its original purpose: to encourage peak performance from valued public employees. Instead, it tended to create sinecures, often protecting public employees past their prime.
Tenure is not a personnel issue. It is an area of public policy. If Pennington is considering granting tenure on a case-by-case basis, I hope the council will open the matter to public discussion. A hasty vote would be short-sighted.
Kate O’Neill, Pennington
Safety comes first
To the editor:
Recently, the Hopewell Township Committee voted unanimously to request that the NJ Department of Transportation cancel its plans to improve the intersection of Routes. 31 and 518 because they believe the improvements would draw more traffic to the region.
This vote demonstrates once again the arrogance and dangerous obsessiveness of our Township Committee in their quest to stop development. It is highly questionable that the improvement of an intersection will make Hopewell Valley more attractive for development. More importantly, safety comes first.
This is a dangerous intersection where numerous accidents have occurred. Opposition to its improvement is a statement by the Township Committee that people’s lives are less important than open space. Clearly, the Hopewell Township Committee and the people who elected them into power put the priority of open space over automobile accidents, private property rights, and clean water.
It is a sad testament of the collective thought in Hopewell at this time. It is a shame that the families of future automobile accident victims at this intersection will not be allowed to sue the Township Committee over the consequences of their irresponsible decision.
Robert Bruccoleri, Hopewell Township
Overwhelming support!
To the editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Hopewell community for the overwhelming support of the Hopewell Elementary School PTO Benefit Auction this past Saturday night. We received extremely generous donations from area businesses and organizations and parents.
We would like to give special thanks to AnyColor, Inc. who created and produced our auction brochure and posters and to the Pennington Quality Market for their donation of a $500 gift certificate for our raffle prize.
Those who attended, and there were many, enjoyed delicious refreshments, a wealth of live auction offerings, a large array of silent auction items and wonderful handmade craft items. Thank you to all who opened their wallets so generously in bidding on the items. Many thanks to Brian Gage and Eileen Sweeney and their assistant Alex Semple who served as our excellent auctioneers. They did a fabulous job separating us from our money, and did it with humor and style.
Many thanks to the teachers who donated their precious personal time, and to the students who created their amazing class "masterpieces" to be auctioned off.
Thanks to the over 150 parents who spent a lot of time soliciting, decorating, selling raffle tickets, making crafts, decorating and helping with class masterpieces among many other jobs. And thanks most of all to the family members of those involved for putting up with pizza every night for the final week of preparation.
It was a community effort and we raised over $40,000 for our children’s education. What a community we live in! We are so blessed. Thank you, Thank you.
Laurie Lincoln, Sharon Altmeyer, Auction co-chairwomen
No communication!
To the editor:
About a month ago, with no apparent warning, a section of Jacob’s Creek Road between Route 579 and the section of Bear Tavern Road that leads to I-95, was closed. The only work that seems to have been done was done at the very outset: the top layer of blacktop was scraped off a portion of the road.
The only information provided by the Mercer County Highway Department (which seems to be in charge of this project) was the perplexing sign "Bridge Out" and various detour signs.
What was perplexing about the "Bridge Out " signs was that the bridge, or at least what I think of as the bridge (that rickety old metal and wood structure that spans Jacob’s Creek), wasn’t "out" at all. After a week or two, a sign having a depressingly permanent look appeared on the southbound side of Route 579 at Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, warning of the "Bridge Out" ahead. I wonder how many people turned right or left when they saw that sign, thinking that they could not reach Jacob’s Creek Road at all when, in fact, they could cross the bridge and make a left on Jacob’s Creek.
After a few weeks of no visible progress, I called the county highway people. They told me that the road would be closed for another three-six weeks. And-they informed me – the "bridge" that is said to be out is in fact (unbeknownst to me) along Jacob’s Creek Road. What I think of as the "bridge" is actually (according to the highway people) a "trestle." But I have seen no sign of any work on Jacob’s Creek Road for weeks.
Having Jacob’s Creek Road closed is obviously quite inconvenient to those of us who live nearby. It must also be a nuisance for those traveling between I-95 in Pennsylvania and points north on Route 579.
It would have been wonderful if the highway department could have done this repair over a brief interval, rather than starting it and then it dragging out through all of autumn. It would be most helpful if they could have communicated with those affected by the work, both before it started and with clear signs while the job is in progress. And it would be most appreciated if they would finish the work and reopen the road at the earliest possible time.
Roy H. Wepner, Titusville
‘Prunetti doesn’t care’
To the editor:
Robert Prunetti has commented on numerous occasions that the proposed Trenton Mercer Airport expansion is a "no brainer." With this statement Mr. Prunetti consistently proves that he does not care one bit about the concerns of hundreds of residents.
He has demonstrated that he views those who are opposed to the expansion as nothing more than a nuisance. He has become quite Machiavellian in his pursuit of expanding the airport. Machiavelli is credited with saying "the end justifies the means," and that is exactly the philosophy that Mr. Prunetti has been using to try to force the expansion through.
There are many major concerns associated with the Mercer Airport expansion. First of all, there are many Mercer County residents who are concerned about noise and air traffic overhead. These are real and valid concerns that Mr. Prunetti has not acknowledged. Those of you who are currently affected by the airport as it is now already understand. If you are not affected by airplane noise now, you most likely will be if this expansion goes through.
Did you know that when a 737 has to land it has to start its descent a lot earlier than the smaller planes that fly into Mercer Airport now? If you live in Pennington, Hopewell, Ewing, Lawrenceville, Trenton, Hamilton, West Windsor, East Windsor, Robbinsville or Princeton and you are not affected now, just wait. I guarantee you will be affected if Southwest Airlines comes to town.
Here is what a low flying airplane sounds like as it descends over your house. First you will hear the rumbling that will remind you of an old war movie, and then your windows will start to rattle. The noise will be so loud you cannot hear anything else, and you will feel like the plane is going to crash right into your house. You think I’m exaggerating? Do your own research. Go to a neighborhood that is already affected by the airport and just listen. Find out how far away a 737 has to start their descent from a runway.
But of course Mr. Prunetti thinks the airport expansion is a "no brainer" because he does not care about this disruption to people’s lives. He does not care about people’s quality of life. He does not care that there are countless studies that show significant health impacts, learning difficulties for children and reduced property values in communities surrounding airports with persistent air traffic.
Mr. Prunetti supported the Trenton Mercer Airport when they requested that the FAA waive Environmental Assessment. This is one of the clearest indications that Mr. Prunetti wants to force this airport through without any thought to the thousands of Mercer County residents who would be adversely affected. Mr. Prunetti wants to build first and ask questions later. That is not smart business. Any intelligent, moral person would do their research before spending over $18 million dollars of taxpayer’s money.
Since 1983 there have been 10 commercial carriers that have failed at Trenton Mercer Airport. With each failure the taxpayers were left footing the bill. There are already two major airports within 45 miles in either direction. Is there really a need to expand Trenton-Mercer Airport? Mr. Prunetti would like to have you think the airport will be a boon to the economy. He has stated that the airport could be the solution to congested international airports. He wants to tie the airport into two proposed rail projects.
Is this what we really want? Do we really want more traffic, more airplane noise, and more taxes.
Mr. Prunetti would like to conduct Airport Noise Compatibility planning after the airport is expanded. This means that if your community will be adversely affected by the increased noise it will be too late to do anything about it. Right now the airport has a voluntary noise abatement program. The operators are not required to comply, and let me tell you something, they don’t comply. I live in a neighborhood that has been designated a "quiet zone." This means that helicopters are not supposed to fly over my neighborhood. Yet on any given day or night there are countless helicopters flying overhead. It is just easier for the pilots to fly straight than to have to go around the restricted area. Since there is no enforcement whatsoever of the noise control policy there are no repercussions for the pilots.
We call the airport to complain all the time. Let me tell you how this works. We call the appropriate noise complaint number for the airport and leave a message with the details of where we live, what time the offending helicopter flew overhead, etc. Occasionally we get a call back a week or two later from an employee of the airport who tells us that the complaint is being forwarded to the county executive’s office. The airport does nothing except forward the complaint. Funny thing is, when we called Mr. Prunetti’s office and inquired about what was being done about our complaints the gentleman who said he was in charge of handling these complaints said he had never received any complaints from us.
When asked exactly what he does with the complaints if he receives them we were told that he "investigates" them. We are not sure exactly what this "investigation" entails, and are not very confident that is actually ever occurs. Even if an investigation did occur and it found gross offenders of the noise abatement program there would be nothing that could be done because the program is voluntary. What a great system!
Mr. Prunetti continually states that only a minority of county residents oppose the terminal expansion. Is he living in a bubble, or does he just choose to turn a deaf ear to the pleas of worried residents who fear that their quality of life will be severely harmed by his "vision." Will your town be a better place to live if this expansion goes through? Are increased taxes, traffic, and noise and decreased property values going to somehow benefit you? Mr. Prunetti says it’s a "no brainer." The only "no brainer" I see here is Mr. Prunetti himself.
Jill Benvignati, Pennington