Seniors have Mercer support
To the editor:
Seniors in Hopewell Valley could not ask for harder-working or more dedicated advocates than Larry Mansier and the members of the Hopewell Valley Senior Center Planning Committee (HVSCPC).
Larry and his fellow HVSCPC members have worked tirelessly gathering any and all available information that may be utilized in the planning and construction of a center for Hopewell Valley seniors. Mercer County is a willing and enthusiastic partner in encouraging the building of these centers. As I have discussed with the HVSCPC, the county provides municipalities with a matching grant of up to $500,000 for the construction of senior centers.
One of the most recent recipients of the county grant is East Windsor Township, a municipality with a senior population similar in size to that in Hopewell Valley. In January, with the cooperation of Mayor Janice Mironov, I arranged for Larry and his fellow HVSCPC members Dick Willever and Erich Lehmann to meet with East Windsor Assistant Township Manager Tom Ogren. In that meeting we discussed how East Windsor, utilizing county, state and federal monies, together with a corporate donation of land, was able to build a state-of-the-art senior center.
Mercer County clearly supports the establishment of centers for our seniors, however leadership at the municipal level is another crucial ingredient to ensuring this vision becomes a reality. I will continue to lend my assistance to this effort in any way possible and I encourage Hopewell Valley municipal leaders to join together in partnership with the HVSCPC, local businesses, and other community organizations, to assist in making this vision a reality.
Elizabeth M. Muoio, Mercer County freeholder, Pennington
Debris and trash will reappear
To the editor:
Now that the April 9 cleanup is over, we can enjoy our beautiful township for perhaps one or two weeks before the debris and trash once again dominate. For a township so committed to open space and preservation, it would be nice to preserve the natural beauty rather than the visual blight that is all too prevalent.
Granted that the company that picks up the recycling is often responsible for the unintended litter considering they heave the empty bins and whatever drops is left where it falls. It is still simply amazing that people will not walk 5, 20 or even 100 feet beyond their driveways and/or mailboxes to bend over and pick up the trash. How can they not see it and find it offensive? Perhaps they are just waiting for the next scheduled township cleanup where others can do the work for them.
For the 28 years we have lived here, we have taken walks armed with 30-gallon bags and have cleaned up our neighborhood. Our findings are the usual beer cans, bottles and fast food cups and bags. No sooner are we finished than the litter is back in a day or two. Perhaps it is time to bring back the deposit program where the offenders can earn money for their recyclables.
And by the way, does anyone have a clue as to the identity of the person who, for the past 20 years, has been throwing out his Coors Light cans up and down Hopewell-Amwell and Province Line roads? They are thrown at intervals with one lucky property getting the cardboard 12-pack carton as well. It’s frightening to think that he is DUI and/ or hiding his habit from those at home.
Bruce and Barbara Berger, Hopewell Township
Valley should unite on behalf of seniors
To the editor:
The Hopewell Valley Lions Club, a public service organization in Hopewell Valley since 1951, has tried to recognize and meet the needs of all the citizens in Hopewell Valley. Therefore, after careful consideration we support without reservation the work of the Hopewell Valley Senior Center Planning Committee and urge the citizens of Hopewell Valley to support their efforts.
It is important to establish a Senior Advisory Board, to hire a part-time Senior Services coordinator and for our three communities to unite and build a Senior Center that will not only serve today’s older adults, but will also be a legacy from us to older adults in generations to come.
Rodney Newman, president, Hopewell Valley Lions Club, Titusville
New Skate Park opening was ‘cool’!
To the editor:
The opening of the Hopewell Township Skate Park last Saturday was the culmination of more than three and a half years of work since the vision of a skate park was first explored. The best indication of our success has been the positive spontaneous reaction of passersby, along with 95 enthusiastic skaters and hundreds of spectators who took part in opening-day activities.
There is no doubt this project came with a cost, but I firmly believe the costs are far greater if we are not supporting our children and young people with recreational opportunities that allow them to be active and express themselves in a positive, safe, and constructive manner.
Self-expression and athleticism were best displayed last weekend by professional skater and local resident Pete Eldridge. Pete grew up in Pennington and developed his early interest in skating into a full-time career that has him traveling all over the world. We are grateful for his appearance and the large number of giveaways he provided.
A number of people played a key role in the park’s development and opening. My thanks to former mayors, Fran Bartlett and Marylou Ferrara, who first supported the park as recreation liaisons, and more recently, Vanessa Sandom and David Sandahl, who as mayor and recreation liaison, ultimately provided the final approvals and financial support we needed to actually build and open the park.
Thank you to Xtreme Function Skate Shop of Hamilton and Ski Barn of Lawrenceville, who both donated prizes and sponsored a booth on opening day. We are particularly grateful to Michael Rothwell and the Pennington Quality Market, whose significant donation provided more than 600 hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks to everyone in attendance. Their generosity makes it easy to understand why they have been at the heart of the Hopewell Valley community for 45 years.
Among all of the parents and volunteers who supported the skate park, Ellyn Spragins and Michelle Needham worked exceptionally hard and contributed many hours of their time and energy.
The skate park partnership has been a rewarding experience and the dividends were best displayed by children exclaiming the most often heard phrase of the day, "cool."
Michael C. Hritz, director, Hopewell Valley Recreation Department
Open space or sewers?
To the editor:
As I was searching our Hopewell Township yearly calendar for the names and addresses of the Township Committee members in order to write them a letter, I found it interesting that all of the photos illustrating the calendar are of rural scenes. There is one of horses in a pasture, another of a farm field filled with pumpkins, and one of a beautiful old barn in a field.
Interesting that the kinds of scenes that were chosen to include in the township calendar convey the rural image we like to envision when we think of Hopewell Township. There were no pictures of businesses or suburban housing. We like to think of a rural image in Hopewell Township. Here’s hoping that our township officials are committed to preserving that rural image in actuality and not just in pretty calendar pictures that will remind us of what Hopewell Township used to look like.
We have in opportunity to preserve for open space 140 acres in the southern tier of Hopewell Township on the west side of Route 31, or we can allow sewers to be constructed on the property and develop it with 250+ more houses. If sewers are allowed, Beazer Homes will purchase it and be able to build 266 homes there, which will then lead to increased taxes for the all of the residents of the township as we provide additional services and schools for the new homeowners. The cost of services is approximately twice the amount that homeowners will pay in taxes, so the burden of increased taxes will fall on all of the residents here in order to make up the difference. The addition of 266 homes will also bring an increase in traffic, noise, pollution, and a decrease in that rural quality that we all enjoy. If sewers are not allowed, then the state Green Acres Program, along with the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and the Mercer County Municipal Assistance Program will have an opportunity to purchase the land to preserve as open space.
Our Hopewell Township calendar reminds us that we enjoy open space and value our rural landscape, but unless we act now to preserve those qualities in the township, we may only see them only in calendar pictures in the future, while our reality may more closely resemble the landscape in Hamilton Township. I remember when Hamilton was rural, too. Is that where we are headed? I hope not.
Lynn Ebeling, Hopewell Township
Beazer meeting Tuesday
To the editor:
The next Southern Neighborhoods meeting will be held on April 26 in the Municipal Building. We will be more or less following the agenda below:
1. Explain the Township Committee’s sewering vote of April 13. Contrary to the bald facts of the vote, we are probably still OK, so please show up and listen.
2. Will discuss further steps, action plans, in terms of sewering and zoning (From here on out, Beazer Homes is included in the word "we" unless noted otherwise).
3. It would be nice to have Larry Mansier discuss the senior center priorities and time frames to us so we know how to proceed with them in mind.
4. Will discuss protocols ensuring transparency of plans between whatever parties are legally and ethically entitled to know.
5. If time remains, discuss modifications of plans last presented by Beazer Homes in terms of the current situation, or schedule a subsequent meeting to do so.
Hope to see you there. Let me know if you want to add items.
Bill Piper, Hopewell Township
Wear a blue ribbon
To the editor:
What should I do when my baby will not stop crying? How can I discipline my child without getting physical? Challenges like this face parents in Mercer County each day. Children can be challenging. For all of the joy they bring, their behavior can interrupt a family outing, shopping trip and daily life.
Without assistance, a parent might shake a crying baby, or strike an adolescent, potentially causing irreparable physical or emotional harm. However, resources are available to assist parents in their role of caregiver. In total, the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) received 3719 referrals for intervention and services in Mercer County during calendar year 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available. This is simply not acceptable. Parents must learn more appropriate methods of discipline and stress reduction. For this reason, I am proud to serve as a volunteer director on the Board of Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey (PCA-NJ). Each day, the staff and volunteers of PCA-NJ work in communities to reduce incidents of child abuse and neglect.
Nationally, April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, symbolized by the blue ribbon. This month, I wear a blue ribbon to display my support for New Jersey’s children. I hope that my fellow readers will do the same.
To obtain a blue ribbon or for more information about Prevent Child Abuse – NJ, call 1-800-CHILDREN or e-mail [email protected].
Nicholas D. Borrelli, Hopewell
Where’s the mulch?
To the editor:
To the tune of "Where did all the flowers go?" . . . Where is all the mulching going and the compost, too. When will they return? Long time passing.
On a serious note, why is there no mulching or compost? The township, which picks up our brush, branches, leaves now states that there is no mulch or compost. Where does it go?
Are we the supplier, but not the receiver? Don’t we even get a pile or two? If we are giving it to someone shouldn’t we get something in the way of thanks because that someone is profiting by our generosity?
Like, for instance, when that someone comes to pick up a truckload of our brush and branches to be mulched, couldn’t that someone bring with him some mulch or compost, as a gesture of good faith. Let’s say a truckload for every so many truckloads of our brush and branches he gets. In return we will be loyal to him. Fair is fair. Remember mulching conserves water.
Don Mauer, Hopewell Township
