Area reacts to attacks

Ongoing regional updates are being added to the bottom of this file as new information becomes available.

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makeshift sign makes a plea in the Mt. Rose section of Hopewell Township,
at the intersection of Carter and Pennington-Rocky Hill roads

Staff


photo by Robyn Stein

   In response to the national emergency situation, operations have been moved to a state of alert at the National Guard Headquarters on Eggerts Crossing Road in Lawrence.
   Ray Martyniuk, public affairs officer for the National Guard, said this morning that the normal reaction in a situation like this is to "increase the level of alert."
   This includes the calling up of key personnel to offer assistance in emergencies in the New York area. This is mostly in the form of medical personnel, he said.
   Bridges and tunnels between New York and New Jersey have been closed. The four emergency centers in New Jersey have been activated.
   The main emergency center for the state is the West Trenton State Police Barracks and all further instructions and information must come from State Police Chief Carson Dunbar, according to Mr. Martyniuk.
   Lawrence and Hopewell public schools remain open, according to their respective board offices.
   Hopewell Valley Regional Schools will remain open today. A Central Office spokeswoman said officials figure "there would be more bedlam" letting schools out early. However, teachers in the district may leave to pick up children elsewhere, or parents in the Hopewell Valley district may pick up their children at Hopewell Valley schools, if they desire to do so.
   Hopewell Township Police Chief Michael Chipowsky, who serves as the emergency management coordinator, said that Mercer County has activated its Emergency Management system.
   Packet Online will continue to offer local emergency information as it comes in.

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    The local chapter of the American Red Cross is taking the lead in disaster relief for the state of New Jersey, according to Christine Gazzara, communications associate for the American Red Cross Central New Jersey.
   "We’ve activated our disaster response center," she said. "We’re trying to get two emergency response vehicles into New York to assist."
   All volunteers — not just disaster response, but also mental health, physical care and mass care volunteers throughout the state — are on alert and currently being polled for availability so they may be sent to New York or other areas impacted by the emergency.
   All other state Red Cross chapters are also on alert.
   "We want to help American Red Cross chapters everywhere," Ms. Gazzara said.
***

   Things are quiet at the state emergency management headquarters at the State Police Barracks in West Trenton, according to spokesman Sgt. Al DellaFave.
   The Emergency Operating Center is opened and manned to coordinate reports from county emergency management offices across the state and to provide aid in response to those reports, according to Sgt. DellaFave.
   The biggest problems in New Jersey right now are inoperable phone lines in Hudson County, he said. Emergency management officials are currently reaching out to the phone company to get that problem resolve.
   Any information regarding school or highway closings or a state of emergency would come from the governor in the form of a declaration, said Sgt. DellaFave. He said he wasn’t sure if the Turnpike has been closed, but he was aware that several exits are closed.
***

   In Lawrence Township and Hopewell Valley, all afterschool activities have been canceled including athletics.
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   Hopewell Township Police Chief Michael Chipowsky, who serves at the emergency management coordinator in the Valley area, said Tuesday at 11:05 p.m. that Merrill Lynch, located at I-95 and Scotch Road, has "closed voluntarily."
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   According to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, all northbound traffic after Exit 11 on the New Jersey Turnpike has been terminated. All northbound traffic must exit at or prior to Exit 11.
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   South Brunswick schools are remaining open following terrorist attacks in New York City and other areas nationwide.
   School officials are meeting with township officials and police to assess the situation and to decide whether to inform the younger students of the district of the situation. Students at South Brunswick High School and Crossroads School have been informed.
   District officials said they do not want to send students home without knowing if parents will be there.
   "The schools are the safest place for the children to be," said Maribeth Edmunds, administrative assistant to the central office.
   South Brunswick schools will remain open 24 hours for children whose parents are not home and for staff who need accommodations, according to a press release.
***

   After school activities including athletic events for Lawrence Township Public schools have been canceled and the State Police has activated local emergency management offices across New Jersey in the wake of several terrorist attacks throughout the United States.
   Lawrence Township Public Schools remain open today, according to the district superintendent’s office. However, all after school programs have been canceled.
   According to the State Police, there are no emergencies in the Lawrence area, though the nearby Mercer County Airport has been closed. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all flights across the country.
   "We are monitoring the situation at this time," said Lawrence Township Emergency Management Coordinator Dale Robbins. A state of emergency has not been declared in the township, he said. Township Police Chief John Prettyman said the department is on "heightened alert."
   Public buildings or places where the public may gather, such as churches or synagogues are receiving extra attention, said Chief Prettyman.
   The Lawrence Township First Aid and Rescue Squad’s rescue vehicle has been sent to Hudson County for backup, said Chief Prettyman.
   Off-duty Lawrence Police officers have been called in, he said. One township police officer, Mike Yeh, is a member of a state urban rescue team and has been called to duty, said Chief Prettyman.
***

   The East Windsor Regional School District has announced that there will be a regular school schedule today (Wednesday, Sept. 11). However, all after school activities for today, practices, open houses, etc. are canceled. The Kid Care will be open until parents pick up their children.
***

   Manville schools will finish the day, but all other school activities have been canceled in the wake of a series of what appear to have been terrorist attacks this morning.
   Faculty meetings and after-school events — including this afternoon’s soccer games against David Brearly High School — have been canceled.
   Tonight’s Manville Board of Education meeting has also been canceled.
   Raritan Valley Community College announced canceled classes this morning, also.
   Calls for emergency assistance to help support Manhattan medical personnel were issued at about 11 a.m. Emergency management coordinators in the area were seeking one ambulance from each municipality to meet at the Bridgewater Borders store before proceeding to New York.
***

   Hillsborough schools will remain open Tuesday, according to local school officials.
   School officials have not canceled after-school activities at this time.
***

   Quaker Bridge Mall on Route 1 in Lawrence remains open, though many vendors have taken the mall up on its approval for individual vendors to decide to close, according to mall manager John Ferreira.
   Vendors were granted permission to close around 1 p.m. and many employees have begun to filter out of mall, said Mr. Ferreira. There, of course, will come a point when so many stores have closed that it will force a mall closing, he said.
***

   Commuters were shocked and saddened by the events. Joseph Mackiewicz, manager of Park and Ride 8A on Route 130, was on duty when the first bus loads of commuters returned from the horror in New York.
   "There were a lot of people in tears," Mr. Mackiewicz said. "A lot of the riders are close knit because they commute together on a daily basis. People know a lot of people who commute to Wall Street and the World Trade Centers."
   Approximately 1,000 people from several local communities including South Brunswick, Monroe Township, Cranbury, Plainsboro and New Brunswick commute to Manhattan daily from the South Brunswick bus depot.
   "There are people whose lives have been rocked," Mr. Mackiewicz said. "It’s conceivable there are people that commute from this station that are deceased. My first reaction was sadness because I know a lot of these people because I deal with them on a daily basis and am close with them. I’ve seen these people in here with their families, their kids."
   Another employee at the depot said he was awakened via phone by his boss with the news. Quiet and fighting back tears, the young man said he was concerned about the safety of several loved ones, including his girlfriend.
   "All my family is in New York, so I’m really worried," he said.
   According to Coach USA representatives, people are being transported by train into Newark’s Penn Station where buses will depart for several destination throughout the state, including the Park and Ride 8A.
***

   Afternoon kindergarten classes in Monroe were canceled, but otherwise the district was in session Tuesday. Classes in Jamesburg and Cranbury also remain in session.
   Administrators said it would be difficult to cancel classes because many parents would not be home to greet their children.
   Monroe Township Schools Superintendent Ralph Ferrie said school principals were talking to their students, with the aim of keeping children informed and calm.
   He said teachers who needed to get home, chiefly because of concern for relatives working in New York City, were being permitted to leave school.
   "Principals and teachers will cooperate to make certain all classes are covered." Dr. Ferrie said.
   The superintendent held a meeting of the school-district emergency management team, shortly after receiving reports of the attack Tuesday morning .
   "We planned for the day. We will be monitoring developments during the day and will get together late in the day to decide on what is appropriate to do," Dr. Ferrie said.
   Students at Jamesburg’s Grace M. Breckwedel School were informed of the events over the intercom by Superintendent Richard Ballard, who was following the events on television.
   School officials said students seemed to take the news well, and that that the safest place for them would be in the schools.
   Regular classes were held, though students were kept inside during their normal recess periods and physical education classes were canceled. Three concerned parents came to pick up their children, while fifteen other students had family members in the city.
   School officials were able to contact several of those students’ parents, and they all had safely survived the tragedy.
   The Cranbury School is struggling to remain open in light of the recent attacks.
   "We are trying to remain open," Jeneane Brody, a secretary at the school, said at 11:15 a.m. "Parents may pick up their kids if they need to."
   For the children who remain throughout the school day, it has not yet decided if a support group will meet with them to explain this devastation.
   "The guidance department is meeting right now," said Ms. Brody. "Nothing has been decided yet."
   The First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury has several vigils scheduled for tonight to help deal with the tragedy.
   "We have received many calls," Associate Pastor, Doug Dent said at 11:45 a.m. "We are open now and will remain open throughout the day."
   The Rev. Dent said that vigils will be held at the church this evening at 4 and 7 p.m.
   "Three pastors will be on hand all day for grief counseling." the Rev. Dent said.
***

   Plumsted Superintendent Gerald Woehr said the school district is following the same emergency procedures used during hurricanes. Parents who wish to pick up their children can, but schools themselves will not close without a declared state of emergency by either the governor or the president.
   Dr. Woehr said given that many township residents are or are related to local military personnel from Fort Dix and Maguire Air Force Base, who may be called to duty, township elementary school students will not be sent home unless an adult is known to be present.
   "If there is no adult present, we will keep the children in school and make arrangements to have them picked up later," he said.
   Dr. Woehr said the district’s major concerns center on both the township’s proximity to Maguire and Fort Dix, and its proximity to the Oyster Creek Nuclear Facility in Forked River, which is approximately 20 miles southeast of Plumsted.
   Dr. Woehr said the school district will meet after school to set up a telephone tree and to set up counseling services for students who may know victims of the attack.
   In Upper Freehold, Superintendent Robert Connelly said an e-mail was sent to all staff members Tuesday morning instructing them how to inform students of the incident.
   Teachers in grades 5 through 12 were asked to convey the news to students. Administrators met with teachers in kindergarten through fourth grade to assist them in notifying their students.
   In addition, teachers were instructed to watch for reactions from students. Some students who were visibly upset were referred to the child study team and guidance offices.
   The principals and vice principals searched files to identify students with parents who work in New York City. Dr. Connelly said 16 to 20 students at the high school and about a dozen at the elementary/middle school had parents or close relatives working in the city, but not necessarily at the World Trade Center, which collapsed after being struck by two airplanes.
   "The number who actually work at the World Trade Center is fewer," he said. "This is very upsetting to everyone."
   At the time, around noon, officials were uncertain about whether after-school programs would be operating as normal.
   In Washington and Millstone, officials said the districts would not close early and that after-school programs would continue as normal.
   In all districts, parents were able to pick up their children early.
***

   Hightstown Emergency Management Coordinator Dean Raymond said the borough is setting up services at the East Windsor-Hightstown YMCA and district schools for children whose parents may be held up in New York City. He said the children will only be sent home when there is a guardian present, or an adult picks them up.
   At the request of the Mercer County Office of Emergency Management, the Hightstown First Aid Squad has dispatched an ambulance to Teterboro Airport.
   Ralph Persico of the Mercer County OEM said his office requested the ambulance to assist the transportation of thousands of evacuees from New York City who are being moved to the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
   Mr. Dean Raymond said this is the only action so far taken by borough emergency units. He added, however, that all emergency personnel are standing by in case they are called to duty.
   Washington Township Fire Commissioner Debbie Matson said the Washington Fire Department received a call from Hightstown First Aid requesting a truck to accompany the squad to Teterboro.
   Borough Police Chief James Eufemia said the Police Department is standing by for word from the State Police, who may or may not ask the department for assistance.
***

   Tonight’s East Windsor Township Council meeting has been canceled.
***

   South Brunswick police are preparing themselves in the event the terrorist attacks become more local.
   Chief Michael Paquette said there are "over half a dozen" areas in the town that may be attractive to terrorists. He would not name the areas.
   The police have had a number of meetings today with EMS, the fire department, the government and public works to mobilize emergency management.
   Chief Paquette said an Instant Command System is in place as a way to deal with the situation with a "degree of reason."
   "It determines who is in charge of all areas and how to branch off that," he said.
   He said the department is also prepared to help in New York City, should it be called upon.
   "Our hearts go out to the victims in New York City," said Chief Paquette.
***

   It has been confirmed that Victor Saracini of Yardley, Pa., was piloting one of the hijacked United Airlines jetliners that crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. Reportedly, a Solebury Township woman was a passenger aboard the hijacked United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco that crashed into a grassy field in Shanksville, Somerset County, Pa., though the woman’s identity could not be confirmed Tuesday night.


 

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