Toll Gate principal gets entangled in mystery

Umstead was part of the "Be a Summer Sleuth" program

By John Tredrea
   Reading a whodunit can be really good. But being in one is even better.
   That’s how it was at the Pennington Public Library the afternoon of July 25. That was the last day of this year’s incarnation of the library’s long-extant summer reading program, for grade school children.
   The theme of the program was "Be a Summer Sleuth." The special guest, and an integral part of the day’s mystery story, was Dan Umstead.
   Mr. Umstead is the new principal of Toll Gate Grammar School, a few blocks from the library on South Main Street in Pennington.
   "We staged a mystery," said children’s library Director Cindy Persichilli. "It involved someone supposedly coming into the library and taking something — the new Harry Potter book ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"). We created a crime lab. The kids collected evidence."
   The young sleuths eventually caught Mr. Umstead with the book. "We explained it was a joke after it was over," Mr. Persichilli said. "It was fun. We even had the mayor (Anthony Persichilli), come in and pardon Mr. Umstead."
   Then Mr. Umstead read to the children and discussed Toll Gate a bit with them. "He really was making himself a part of our community," Ms. Persichilli said appreciatively of the just-hired principal. "It made for a really nice way to wind up our summer reading program for this year."
   Mr. Umstead will begin work in Hopewell Valley officially on Sept. 1. He replaces Myra Bugbee, who retired Wednesday (Aug. 1). The new principal, who has been serving as an assistant elementary principal for the West Windsor-Plainsboro (WW-P) Regional School District, was hired in mid-July.