EDITORIAL
By:Ruth Luse
A Page 1A headline this week indicates that opposition to the Back Timberlane athletic complex plan is still growing.
Several letters to the editor in this week’s edition indicate, on the other hand, that there are quite a few citizens who strongly favor the plan.
Having watched what originally seemed to us to be a great idea gradually dissolve into a bitter issue of contention for Valley residents, we are heartened that Mayor Marylou Ferrara of Hopewell Township has suggested bringing some of the key players together to see if a compromise can be found.
The meeting would be held, says this week’s account, with the hope of reaching, or at least moving toward, some kind of consensus.
Those who would be asked to attend could include: one or two members each of the Hopewell Township Committee and Recreation Roundtable, members of SAFE-T (Stop Athletic Fields at Timberlane), and the school board, which already has OK’d the scheme under which the Roundtable would pay for construction of the complex on school-owned land.
We know there is a need for more athletic fields in Hopewell Valley. We know existing school fields often suffer from overuse. We know the school district population is growing, and that because of that, the number of youngsters needing places to play organized sports is growing, too.
We all have been told that giving young people something constructive to do with their spare time is a deterrent to negative behavior. That’s why the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance got involved with the plan in the first place. That group’s aim is to help young people become healthy citizens of the community.
We don’t like to see many well-meaning citizens like those involved with the Alliance and the sports groups and leagues that are part of the Recreation Roundtable chastised for trying to create something our young people need. We also don’t like to see people who fear for their neighborhood suffer under the misconception that no one cares how they feel.
As we did last week, we urge those Valley residents who have problems with the athletic complex plan and those who just want to know more about it to attend the open house being held tonight (weather permitting) to see the latest plans, partially outlined in another Page 1A account. The event will be held at the Hopewell Township branch of the Mercer Library (next to the high school) from 7 to 9 p.m.
And, we urge those who attend the meeting suggested by Mayor Ferrara to go in with their minds wide open. This recreation issue is not one that should be swept under the rug. It is one that deserves a fair and positive outcome!