Group formed
to assist flood victims
To the editor:
We all recognize the terrific burden the April 2005 flood placed upon our community.
Although there has been help through either private flood insurance or through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), many of those individuals, families and businesses that have been affected have still potentially lost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars due to this unforeseen and tragic event.
To assist in the relief effort, I have been working with the Rev. Dr. Greg Faulkner of the Stockton Presbyterian Church, who has spearheaded an organized response in support of our community.
Dr. Faulkner has brought together numerous religious and nonprofit leaders and disaster recovery professionals and has formed the Delaware Valley Disaster Recovery (DVDR) table of the New Jersey Interfaith Partnership for Disaster Recovery. This organization brings the religious communities and nonprofit agencies in our area under one umbrella with one common cause: to help those who have suffered financially from this disaster.
From the very beginning, Dr. Faulkner and I recognized that many of those affected could say, "I don’t need or want help." That is why the DVDR will conduct its activities in a completely confidential manner. Money raised and distributed through the DVDR to those financially affected by this disaster will be based upon criteria established from both the religious and nonprofit communities supporting this effort. The confidential process to be used will be based upon both the amount of money raised and the severity of the losses experienced through established disaster recovery programs of both the worldwide religious and the national nonprofit communities.
I urge any of those who have been negatively affected financially from the flood to attend an informational session about the DVDR on Saturday, June 18, at 10 a.m. at the Stockton Presbyterian Church.
If you cannot attend but would like to get more information, please contact Dr. Faulkner at 397-0130 or me for additional information.
I also want to remind all those affected by the flood that the last day to register with FEMA is Monday, June 20. Failure to register with FEMA will prevent any future assistance by the federal government against any potential claim you may have. Should further declarations be made in the future or should there be any damage discovered at a later date by you that might be eligible for FEMA assistance, you will be denied if you do not register by this date.
mayor
Stockton
Thanks for support
during campaign
To the editor:
West Amwell friends and neighbors, thank you for your recent votes in my campaign for Township Committee. It meant a lot to me to have so much support from Democrats, independents, undeclared and Republicans alike.
For those who opposed me in the primary, know that I don’t hold grudges and I look forward to working with you as well as my supporters to make West Amwell a community where we work together to make it a place we can all be proud to call home.
West Amwell
Ms. Hunt is the Republican candidate for West Amwell Township Committee.
Effective planning
needed in West Amwell
To the editor:
I am very grateful to all who supported my candidacy for West Amwell Township Committee during last week’s primary election. I am running again because I consider public service to be a great privilege, and because I want to continue the progress we have made in the last few years toward protecting the quality of life we all enjoy in West Amwell.
I want to continue working for effective planning so West Amwell can avoid making the same mistakes that have led to sprawl elsewhere in New Jersey. By effective planning I mean setting high standards for developers to protect what we have in West Amwell while we still have the chance. I want to continue working toward a future where we all have a say in how our town will look, and where we never again return to a past where our elected officials just let things happen a failed policy that has cost West Amwell taxpayers millions of dollars in the last several years.
In the coming election, that is the biggest issue that separates me from my opponent, who has opposed practically every effort to plan effectively in our town. My opponent voted against revisions to the township Master Plan that made it a better blueprint for how West Amwell will look in the future. In fact, in October 2003, during the final public hearing on our new Master Plan, my opponent actually turned her back on her fellow Planning Board members, including those joining her in opposition, in an unprecedented public display. Immediately after that incident, as a Planning Board member I had the honor of making the successful motion to adopt the new township Master Plan and West Amwell is better off for it.
My opponent fought against efforts to update the township zoning ordinance to reduce the number of homes that can be built in West Amwell, given our rural community character and specific public health concerns relating to water supply and water quality. Nevertheless, as a Township Committee member I had the honor of introducing the motion to adopt our new zoning ordinance and West Amwell is better off for it.
Also last fall, my opponent fought efforts to acknowledge that the Sourland Ridge running through the center of West Amwell was an environmentally sensitive resource worthy of special attention and effective planning consistent with our Master Plan. As a Township Committee member, I had the honor of making the motion to designate the Sourland as a Special Resource Area, and West Amwell is better off for it.
My opponent has publicly stated that West Amwell doesn’t need any additional environmental protections, which is an extraordinary statement given that we barely understand what we have and what needs to be protected. For starters, I believe that when developers come to West Amwell we need a plan so that we can tell them to stay away from our streams, preserve our woodlands, and not destroy the things we love most about our town. If elected to the Township Committee, I will continue to work hard to accomplish that.
Last week I read a published comment by a supporter of my opponent, who expressed relief at the result of the primary, as though the outcome in November was foregone. Now, I’m not a farmer, and I realize I have my work cut out in this election, but I also know it’s way too early to count chickens.
West Amwell
Mr. Shapella is the Democratic candidate for West Amwell Township Committee.