A story that reverberated across the globe tops the list of the 10 most important local stories of the year 2001 in Hightstown and East Windsor.
By: T.J. Furman
The first 253 days of the year 2001 were marked, locally, by the same kind of news typical for any other year recorded on the pages of the Windsor-Hights Herald.
However, the 254th day, Sept. 11, marked a change in the tone of the year and life in general throughout the world.
Eventually, the school board, council and planning board meetings went on in East Windsor and Hightstown, and made news. But the indelible vision of two airliners crashing into New York’s skyline and the sight of the mighty Twin Towers falling to the ground were, and still are, foremost in the mind.
As is tradition, the Herald again presents its list of the top 10 stories of the year in Hightstown and East Windsor.
Sept. 11
Somewhat against tradition, however, the biggest story of the year took place outside of the borders of these two municipalities and reverberated across the world as perhaps no story has since the end of World War II.
On Sept. 11, hijackers seized control of four airliners departing the East Coast. Two of the planes were deliberately crashed into the upper floors of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. A third plunged into the Pentagon just outside the nation’s capital in northern Virginia. The fourth crashed into the ground in southwest Pennsylvania, apparently because of an attempt by passengers on the flight to overtake the hijackers before they could attack another site.
Since that time, the United States and an international coalition of military powers have joined together to fight terrorism and find the man in charge of the organization believed to be responsible for the airliner attacks, Osama bin Laden.
To look at the events of Sept. 11 merely as an international incident, however, does not do justice to the impact the event had locally. Six residents of Hightstown and East Windsor Ruth Lapin, Neil Lai, Debbie Bellows, Colleen Barkow, Anil Bharvaney and Lorraine Bay were known to have died in the attacks. A former borough resident, Todd Beamer, was one of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 believed to have aided in an attack on that plane’s hijackers.
The response locally ranged from impromptu prayer services to memorial gardens, from flag-waving to patriotic horn-honking. The Peddie School hosted "An Evening of Healing and Hope" Oct. 13, a gathering of musicians and artists as part of the borough’s official day of remembrance. The next day, East Windsor held a service on the grounds of the Municipal Building and dedicated a memorial to the victims from the township.
Though Sept. 11 and its aftermath were an international story of immense proportions, they also had the most profound impact on the lives of Hightstown and East Windsor residents of any story in the year 2001.
Borough stays put
In the summer of 2000, the Hightstown Borough Council announced an intention to investigate moving the borough’s offices from their North Main Street location to the GPU Energy site on Mercer Street at the edge of town.
On Oct. 15, 2001 the council settled its most volatile issue of the year by voting, 4-2, against buying the property from GPU. The potential move became an issue in the council election, and drew large crowds to council meetings on Oct. 1 when a feasibility study commissioned by the council was presented and the night of the final decision.
The feasibility study presented a range of options, from renovations to moving, that would cost between $1.8 million and $3.8 million.
Schools seek roon
The third-ranked story of 2001 will continue to be reported into 2002 and its impact will be felt beyond then.
The Helfgott Group, a demography firm from Margate, told the East Windsor Regional Board of Education that it can expect the district’s student population to increase by 45.8 percent over the next five years, triggering the board’s search for a solution.
By the end of the year, the board had narrowed its choices down to three building a new upper elementary school, building a new middle school or adding onto all of its existing schools.
A touch of controversy entered the mix in November when board member Bob Laverty introduced an option to build a new elementary school for families in the southern portion of the district. Board members objected to the plan, saying it could possibly be viewed as an "elitist" school for more expensive homes built in recent years in that part of East Windsor.
The board voted the option down, but it caused a visible division between Mr. Laverty and other members of the board in subsequent in meetings and letters sent by Mr. Laverty to the Herald.
A decision is slated for Jan. 7 and a bond referendum on whether to move forward may be held in September 2002.
HHS drug bust
The Mercer County prosecutor’s office and the borough Police Department reported eight boys from Hightstown High School, between the ages of 15 and 17, were arrested May 11 and charged with various drug offenses.
Authorities said the boys were all friends and formed a "loose confederation" of marijuana dealers at the school. An undercover operation that started in January resulted in 10 drug purchases on school property and another three that were arranged on school grounds. The boys’ criminal cases were handled by the juvenile courts.
Seven of the boys were expelled from Hightstown High and placed in "alternate educational" programs, according to minutes from school board meetings to handle discipline for the students in June. The eighth student was a senior at the time of the arrest and was not permitted to return to the school.
At least three times during the meetings, recommendations from Chief School Administrator David Witmer for harsher penalties were denied by the board, according to the minutes.
Revitalization
The borough finalized its plans for the downtown revitalization project and introduced them in March, choosing five impact zones where new sidewalks, crosswalks, street lights, benches and other design features would be put in place.
After the council approved borrowing $800,000 and put the project out to bid in July, however, the borough received few takers. One time the borough received no bids and twice the low bid came in well over the budgeted amount.
In November, the borough finally found an acceptable bidder, Lucas Electric Co. Inc. of Washington. The project is expected to start in the spring of 2002, about 10 months later than originally anticipated.
Union troubles
The strained negotiations between the Communication Workers of America Local 1032 continued in 2001 with union members picketing Township Council meetings and the annual Independence Day celebration. The union also placed an ad in the Hightstown Gazette saying Mayor Janice Mironov and the council "welched on a contract" and asked if the council and mayor were "incompetent," "two-faced" and "outlaws."
The two sides later came to an agreement (the key issue was a midyear pay increment for some employees) which was ratified in November.
Home Depot comes to town
Township officials announced in July that The Home Depot home-improvement warehouse chain would be opening a store in the township near the intersection of Routes 130 and 33, pending approvals from the Planning Board.
The board gave a preliminary approval to the store in December and a hearing on the final plans is set for January. If approved at that time, the store is expected to open no later than the beginning of 2003.
Uncle stabs infant
Police reported the stabbing attack of 18-day-old Daisy Andrea Herrarte on Dec. 4, allegedly by her uncle, Juan Francisco Lopez at the Windsor Castle Apartments. Police said Mr. Lopez had an argument with his sister, the girl’s mother, and told her the girl "has to die."
After a neighbor aided the baby’s mother in rescuing the girl, police found Mr. Lopez dancing naked in front of a mirror, police said. He was charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing his niece four times in the chest and abdomen. The baby was released from the hospital three days later.
An examination of Mr. Lopez at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital was ordered by jail officials later that week, where he is still being held.
In a strange twist to the story, the neighbor credited by police with saving the girl’s life is reportedly an illegal alien. His name has been withheld by authorities at his request.
Pagan bikers stab local man
Police arrested three men in connection with a stabbing attack of Hightstown man Robert Jaccoud of Academy Street in May.
According to police, the three men were members of the Pagans motorcycle gang and came to Mr. Jaccoud’s house May 8 to attack him after he left the group. Mr. Jaccoud survived the attack and the three men were charged with attempted murder and weapons offenses.
Fire guts apartments
Four apartments were destroyed and two were heavily damaged by smoke and water after a fire broke out in Building G of the Windsor Castle Apartments Sept. 21. No one was injured in the blaze, but the entire building had to be evacuated and the tenants were cared for temporarily by the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey.
Residents of 10 of the 16 apartments were permitted to move back in later in the week.