A change of heart
To the editor:
I recently read the letter to the editor that Don Mauer wrote about the school lights being used for a homecoming game and festivities.
My home is right across the street from the school football field and I, too, was at first against Back Timberlane and all that it stood for including the possibility of lights in the future. I thought it would bring more traffic, congestion, garbage, and we would be subject to the constant lights right across the street. I did this even though I have been involved with sports all my life, even am on the board, and help run Hopewell Basketball Association.
Now why did I not favor this issue at the time? I was worried how this one issue would affect me personally and did not care really how it affected the community as a whole. I would suggest you do as I did and start to get involved with the community and the events that shape our lives. You can sit back, complain, and make things difficult or you can reach out and try to make our community a better place for us all.
I went to two football games this past year on a Friday night. One game was in Ewing and I cannot recall the other location, but what I found when I went to these games is the incredible school sprit we have and that our kids and our parents were actually enjoying themselves. As a parent of teenagers I found that going to a school football game on Friday night with your teenager, even if they wouldn’t acknowledge you were there, of course, was far better than wondering what party they were at and what they were doing.
I would invite everyone in the community to come to Homecoming, open your eyes for yourself, and look past your own personal issues with the event. I think you will walk away as I did with a newfound understanding of the community around you if you decide you want to part of it.
I commend the athletic department, school administration and the school board for making the decisions based on what they feel are the best things for our children and the community. As for the one school board member who abstained from this vote, we elected the school board to make the tough choices for us when the community does not agree on the issues that affect each of us individually. Please stand up and be counted. Thank you and I look forward to seeing all of you at the game.
Robert Gehm
Hopewell Township
Jim Abbott:
A final farewell
To the editor:
The entire Abbott Family would like to thank the Hopewell Valley community for the role you played as we paid our final respects to our father, James E. "River Jim" Abbott.
We were truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of care, compassion, and support you gave us during this difficult time. The editorials that were printed in this newspaper depicted our father for the gentleman, community leader and inspiration that he was to all of us and we thank you for sharing your thoughts and remembrances of him in print.
As only Jim Abbott would have wanted, we experienced a major power outage in the greater Titusville area on the morning of his funeral to test us in an emergency situation. All parties handled this final emergency just as Dad would have in a calm and organized manner with everyone playing their role to ensure traffic would flow, power was generated at the Union Firehouse, generators were attempted at the church and someone was in place to direct people to the change in plans when it was realized the problem would not be corrected in time.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to the Hopewell Township Police Department, the Hopewell Township municipal staff, the Hopewell Township Public Works Department, the volunteer members of the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad, and the residents of Titusville and beyond, for the dignity and honor that was shown to our father as his funeral procession traveled from Pennington to Titusville on the afternoon of Aug. 10.
We passed police officers and State Park Rangers standing at attention at every intersection. As we made our way across the township we saw municipal employees standing at attention along the road paying their final respects to a great community leader. As we traveled through the lower park at Washington Crossing we were escorted by four Marine rescue boats from the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad, the West Trenton Rescue Squad and the Lambertville Rescue Squad. The men and women volunteers of the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad marched past our home on Grant Street to give their final salute and the siren was blown at the firehouse to mark his final call as they retired Marine Rescue 53-4. Our neighbors and friends in Titusville stood along Grant Street to say goodbye and even the youngest of his friends stood at attention with their hands over their hearts to show their respect to Mr. Abbott.
These are the wonderful images that will be etched in our minds and in our hearts forever and we are grateful to this community for the role you played in giving our father the final farewell he deserved but would have never asked for.
Ruth Abbott,
Judy Abbott Niederer,
Virginia Abbott Horner,
Karen Abbott,
Lynn Abbott Rich,
Janice Abbott, Irene Abbott,
Diane Abbott Hemmer
‘Quality-of-life issue
To the editor:
I would like to respectfully present the neighbors’ side of the athletic fields dispute. This is about the Hopewell Township Planning Board agreement with the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education. This agreement is Resolution No. 04-027.
These are the two items in dispute: 9. Lighting Other than interior lighting for the press box and LED scoreboard lights, no lighting on the fields or bleacher structure is proposed; 10. Irrigation No field irrigation system, or ground water irrigation, is proposed."
The neighbors that are most affected interpret, "no lighting on the fields or bleacher structure" to include temporary or permanent lighting. The intent was to support afternoon games and exclude temporary or permanent lighting for night games. They do not want night lights and night games started in a residential area where 18 athletic fields are planned. If this agreement is not honored then any special interest group can provide funds for lighting on any of the 18 fields. This is a major quality-of-life issue for a residential neighborhood.
The neighbors have negotiated this agreement in good faith. They have been honoring this agreement since 2004. They have been accepting afternoon games by staying in their homes or leaving for the afternoon, without complaining, with the understanding they would be able to have peace and quiet in their homes at night. Isn’t this a reasonable compromise?
Item 10, "No field irrigation system, or ground water irrigation" is interpreted as no local well water is to be used. A water truck has been filling up at the Timberlane Middle School, which uses a local well, and watering new sod installed for Timberlane athletic fields.
There is a long history of serious water issues near the high school and middle school. The most current issue occurred last year when 48 geothermal wells were installed. The wells originally were to be installed in the playing area of the Timberlane field. The school district asked the community to raise the money for artificial turf. When this was not done the wells were relocated to the neighbors side of the field. The first well drilled caused several neighbors wells to be polluted with sediment from the drilling process. The school district installed sediment filters on several wells. The wells were relocated a third time to the opposite side of the Timberlane field. After a year there are still water issues outstanding from the drilling process.
There are at least 20 well problems that have occurred during droughts near the athletic fields. The neighbors have tried to resolve them by presenting the problems to the school district and township authorities, negotiating a planning board agreement, debating issues in the news media and voting against sports referendums that would negatively impact lighting and water issues.
It is obvious there is a major difference of opinion between the neighbors and the school district. Does anyone have a reasonable solution for these issues?
Gene Ramsey
Hopewell Township
School officials thanked
To the editor:
I attended the school board meeting on Aug. 20. I want to thank each of the school board members for listening to the community on a very passionate issue. I want to thank the board for their nearly unanimous (Jim Wulf abstained) support of a Friday evening Homecoming football game.
But what I really want to thank the board for is the lesson they taught all of the students present that night. Yes, those students attended the meeting because they wanted a Friday night game under the lights a game all students and community members could attend. They learned to stand up for what they believe. But they walked away with another unexpected lesson the lesson of the process of fairness and respect and decision-making. They learned how democracy works first-hand.
The school board is responsible for listening to the entire community, and then has the obligation of making decisions that are in the best interest of the majority of the community. Thank you, Judy Ferguson and school board members, for your support and for all lessons learned.
Aida Valcarcel
Hopewell Township
Let Pennington know
To the editor:
Has your property been flooded? Do you live in the floodplain?
If so, the Borough of Pennington would like to hear from you. There is currently a regional planning initiative underway to complete a Flood Mitigation Plan for 64 municipalities within Hunterdon, Mercer, Sussex and Warren counties located within the Delaware River watershed. The partnership includes county emergency management and planning departments, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJOEM). The purpose of this initiative is to reduce future flood loss and make local municipalities eligible for cost-shared federal funds made available through FEMA’s flood mitigation assistance program.
A public hearing will be held on Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. at Pennington Borough Hall, 30 N. Main St., Pennington, to receive your input regarding the development of the flood mitigation plan. We would like to hear your suggestions for local mitigation actions that would reduce future flood damage.
For more information on the planning initiative, please visit www.drbc.net.
Gene Dunworth
borough administrator

