Dublin is only safe route
To the editor:
I have been a resident of Dublin Road for 26 years. My uncle lived here during much of that time and for over 40 years before that. As a long-time resident I find it difficult to understand the narrow-mindedness of relative newcomers like David Jones and Joanna Siggilliano.
Much more than being a convenient thoroughfare for the Bruccoleris and their neighbors, Dublin Road is a far safer route for them to use for going to the high school, library, and into Pennington than any of the alternate routes available to them. Those alternatives are to go down Route 546 and around the circle, go down Search Avenue and make a left onto Route 31, or go down Ingleside and make a left onto Route 31. Using Dublin Road has been the safest choice for residents of that neighborhood since before I lived here. Closing Dublin Road will remove the only safe route they have and force them to use Route 31 for routine business.
One of the biggest safety concerns I see raised for closing the road is the safety of Timberlane and High school students walking on the road. There really is no need for any student to walk on this road. The official policy of the school district is that any student living on Dublin Road, Morningside Drive or Glenwood Drive is eligible for bus transportation. The families simply need to contact the transportation department and a bus can be scheduled. When asked if the policy would change if the road were closed, Robert Sopko replied that the primary safety concern, the absence of sidewalks, would still exist so all of those students would still be eligible for bus transportation. I think one can safely conclude from Dr. Sopko’s response that he feels the absence of sidewalks is the real safety issue here. I wholeheartedly agree.
In their letter David and Joanna say that sidewalks are impossible to build on Dublin Road. Why is that so? Nearly 100 years ago tunnels were built under the river into New York City. If something like that could be done so long ago surely we can find a way to build a simple sidewalk on Dublin Road now. One of the biggest reasons I’ve seen for the impossibility of building a sidewalk is the trees that line the road. How many trees do you suppose will have to be removed if two cul-de-sacs are built? By the way, when Jon Edwards first proposed this plan he promised there would be no cul-de-sac. It wasn’t until the school district inquired about how he thought they would turn a school bus around that Jon realized he would not be able to keep that promise and had to have a cul-de-sac. That is just another example of how poorly planned and ill conceived this idea has been from the very beginning.
Like David and Joanna I also am concerned for safety. I don’t take their narrow-minded, self-centered view though. I’m concerned for safety of our neighbors in the community too. Any solution that removes the only safe travel route for a large number of those neighbors is a solution that is not even worthy of consideration. The closing of Dublin Road falls squarely into this category.
Thomas Marion, Hopewell Township
Vote for my dad
To the editor:
This Saturday, Feb. 16, from 2-9 p.m. at the Hopewell Township Municipal Building, township voters will be asked to approve the Hopewell Township Fire District’s annual budget and elect two fire commissioners to three-year terms.
I am asking you, your family and friends to approve the budget and support my dad for fire commissioner.
My father not only possesses the qualifications to be seated on the Board of Fire Commissioners but knows first-hand how important adequate fire protection is and the timely delivery of emergency medical service to our community.
My dad is a certified fire fighter by the state’s Division of Fire Safety, has served several years as fire chief and has served our community for over 30 years. He continues his commitment by acting as driver to both ambulance and fire engine crews, and this year qualified as one of the top 10 firefighter responders.
My father, an incumbent fire commissioner on the township board, is fair, sincere and has the business sense to make difficult decisions that face the board, and has proven continuously that he wants to do what is best for the residents of Hopewell Township.
Drew Kintzel, Titusville
New start for the GOP
To the editor:
There’s no secret that our local Grand Old Party has lost its way. Now there’s a chance for a new beginning. That must be the June 4 primary election. For Hopewell Township’s Republican Committee, voters will be able to elect or re-elect 22 from the candidates. Two, a male and a female, are to serve for each of the township’s 11 election districts.
It’s crucial and there’s hope that a new generation of Republicans, and those not previously involved, will come forth. They’re to carry the GOP banner for each of the districts, to ensure the progress and success of the GOP from local grass roots. From the relatively recent past to now, there’s been dire need for new leadership. A change in committee policy or procedures seems necessary to ensure the selection of the right kind of leaders now and in the future.
The committee needs to elect the best qualified chairman (woman), probably from within the soon-to-be-elected 22 members in that group not from old insiders looking to hold on. Then we’ll move forward, to bring back unhappy, registered party members along with former Republicans who changed party registration due to dissatisfaction with the party’s leadership. Those voters obviously have helped hand local November elections to the opposition in the last four years. The elected 22 will hopefully embrace the right side of the issues, the side the residents held to be true, the majority’s side since November 1997.
Let’s clean up the act, get rid of dirty laundry, and shed baggage from over 20 years. Let’s bring back enthusiasm with the June election, and show the desire to make changes from within. Candidates may apply to the township clerk for signature petition forms for the 22 positions on the ballots. Term of office is two years. Depending on a district’s last number of voters, one to nine signatories are required. For my district 2, for example, the petition calls for only six signed names.
Please note that no one needs party nod or permission to run. Likewise, no one need ask party elders to run for the five-member Township Committee. Let’s dump that mentality. Completed petitions must be returned to the township clerk by April 8, for a place on the ballots.
It’s time to make changes. There’s a challenge for the GOP’s 22 committee members to make a difference. All around, there must be real changes. And June 4 is not far away.
Erich Lehmann, Titusville
A vote for Kunz
To the editor:
The Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Medical Unit supports the candidacy of Yvonne Kunz for Hopewell Township Board of Fire Commissioner on Feb. 16.
The election of Yvonne Kunz would provide a valuable and needed dimension to the Hopewell Township Board of Fire Commissioners. As an active, riding volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with the Hopewell Volunteer Emergency Medical Unit, Yvonne would add this important perspective to the board.
We urge the residents of Hopewell Township to vote for Yvonne Kunz on Saturday at the Hopewell Township Municipal Building between 2 and 9 p.m.
Hopewell Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Unit
Dublin Road in perspective
To the editor:
This letter is in defense of our position not to close Dublin Road.
First we would like to reiterate our request for the Township Committee to work closely with Merrill Lynch to restrict their employees from using the road as Janssen Pharmaceutica did with use of the local surrounding roads. There are mutually agreeable solutions to these problems. This is not the first time Hopewell Township negotiated traffic solutions with area corporations.
Second we would like to defend our position by stating we are concerned with safety first and that is why we are writing this letter. For the residents in our neighborhood it is safer to use Dublin Road to go north than to make a left turn from Search Ave. or Ingleside onto Route 31 or take the Pennington Circle which is unsafe. The Hopewell Valley School System has provided bus transportation to all the students living on Dublin Road, therefore there should not be any students walking in the road or drainage ditches on Dublin Road because there are no sidewalks. Our school system has provided for their safety!
Third, the person that scarred the Jones family tree is a responsible driver who does not have a history of reckless driving and simply swerved to miss a deer. We are grateful the driver and occupants survived without a scratch. A little scar on a tree is minor compared to the injuries that may have occurred in such an accident.
There are many residents who share the same opinion as we do regarding the local use of Dublin Road. Writing letters that do not use names but generally state the reasons for or against closing Dublin Road is more appropriate. Anyone who refers to people living in the local area as "ilk" as well not caring who they antagonize has no respect for others. If one feels that they are not happy with the road they live on, moving to another area may be a solution.
We have neighbors with small children that live on very busy roads that don’t complain. Again we feel closing a public road is not the only solution as there are many roads that one could argue should also be closed . If our government followed the Jones’ reasoning, then we would have to close every road with children living by it.
Let’s work together as a community to put forth a rational solution.
The Bruccoleris, Hopewell Township
Rush Holt commended
To the editor:
Plaudits to Rep. Rush Holt for his cosponsorship of "The Quiet Communities Act" H.R. 1116.
This legislation reestablishes the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It requires ONAC to set noise standards and assists in coordinating noise reduction programs between federal and state governments. The bill reinstates ONAC’s funding which was eliminated from the federal budget in 1982.
The bill further requires ONAC to coordinate federal noise abatement activities, provide technical assistance to local communities, update or develop new noise standards, and promote research and education on the impacts of noise pollution. It further directs the EPA to conduct an aircraft noise impact study of major metropolitan areas and recommend new measures the FAA could implement to mitigate these impacts.
Rep. Holt joins dean of the delegation, Marge Roukema, and Reps. Steve Rothman and Mike Ferguson in serving the interests of New Jersey citizens affected by aircraft noise.
Heidi Kahme, board member, PLANE, Inc.
Don’t put words in my mouth
To the editor:
I just read with great dismay the comments that appeared in last weeks HVN regarding the upcoming fire district elections in Hopewell Township.
George Meyer is quoted as saying the three new members elected this past year ran on an "anti-emergency services building" platform. He went on to say that the three of us have now ”’seen the light" and have now changed our thinking on this matter.
Speaking only for myself, I would like to set the record straight. First, I was never "anti E-services building." My feeling was and still is that the career personnel need suitable quarters desperately, however not at the tremendous cost to the taxpayers proposed by previous boards.
Second, I still agree that the career personnel are in dire need of suitable quarters. However the notion that I have "seen the light" and now subscribe to the notion that the only solution is an overpriced showplace is not only incorrect, but I question where this idea came from.
In the future I only can hope that other board members will allow me to speak for myself and not try to put words in my mouth.
William H. Walker II, Township fire commission
