In defense of a name change
To the editor:
There are six townships in New Jersey with the name Washington. Two of these townships are within seven miles of each other. When something happens in Glouchester or Burlington county or in Warren, Bergen or Morris county, where other Washington Townships are located, newspapers do not differentiate areas. They just print "Washington Township." E-mails sent to people or businesses in Washington Township, Mercer County, are misdirected. Call Superintendent Jack Szabo and ask him about this problem. Bills destined for Washington Township are often sent to other areas and that is not the fault of a wrong ZIP code.
We (a group of residents petitioning to change the township’s name to Robbinsville) have started a three- part project:
Get a full post office right in Robbinsville; get our name changed to Township of Robbinsville; and get our ZIP code (08619) back.
We grew from approximately 4,300 residents to 9,200 residents in six years. We went from a small community to a very large community. Our school system is one of the best in the State of New Jersey. Robbinsville High school is a prime example of the pride of our community. We now have an elected mayor. We are reducing costs in many areas.
Business people complain about no identity for their business. Did you ever try to give instructions using 1-95? The exit sign on 1-95 reads "Washington" and the state Department of Transportation does not even know why the sign is not right and they will not correct it. More and more businesses are coming to Robbinsville. They want an identity. AAA of Central Jersey issues a map of the state Washington Township is not on it but Robbinsville is.
Dover Township is now called Toms River because Dover Township had a name change Nov.14. The biggest reason for a name change was business people needed an identity to associate with and get their ZIP Code back.
You live in Robbinsville but you keep getting mail that reads Trenton, NJ. Why not get upset about that?
Letter heads are easily changed at a very low cost.
The 08691 ZIP code was taken from us by the U.S. Postal Service and designated as a Trenton Zip Code. The contract U. S. post office in Marrazzo’s Thriftway is for convenience only and will not correct the problem of misdirected mail. The only way to correct this problem is to have our own ZIP Code.
That is why a name change is being sought. Once we have that accomplished we will then go to the U.S. Postal Service for our own ZIP Code.
Lewis Koushel,
Robbinsville

