By: centraljersey.com
Soon after I returned to Packet Publications in 2005, Hightstown Mayor Bob Patten invited me to his home for dinner, and East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov and then-regional schools Superintendent Ron Bolandi engaged me in ugly screaming matches.
Five years later, as I write my last column for the Herald, a lot has changed.
I didn’t accept that dinner invitation, feeling it was inappropriate for a person in my position. Today, I’m not even sure Mr. Patten would open his door for me after I’ve written several editorials critical of the way the mayor conducts himself.
I’m not a fan of having the same person report on a town and write editorials about it because it makes it difficult for some people to believe that person can be objective. But that was my responsibility and all I can say is that I took it and my reporting and editing objectivity very seriously.
Covering Hightstown was never dull, largely because the borough has some very passionate people. At present, there are probably many members of the local Police Department who also wouldn’t open their doors to me after I wrote an editorial strongly supporting the proposal to have East Windsor take over borough law enforcement.
I truly wish the best to those Hightstown Police Department employees who may lose their jobs. But because I also wish the best for the borough, I still strongly believe that the East Windsor police takeover is the no-brainer step needed to help Hightstown survive financially. A one-square-mile town simply cannot afford or justify spending close to $3 million a year on police-related expenditures. And the East Windsor Police Department is more than qualified to take on the task. It really is that simple.
Covering East Windsor, on the other hand, can be dull. There are a few main reasons. The township neither has the financial problems nor the political battles the borough has. And Mayor Mironov has a policy of not allowing township employees to talk to the media without her permission.
It was that policy that resulted in a 40-minute screaming match between the mayor and me, as I tried for several weeks to talk to Police Chief Bill Spain about new Breathalyzer technology in 2005. Within 10 minutes after that phone call, the chief called me. And since then, after some more heated debates, Mayor Mironov has apparently gained more trust in the Herald. She still has the same policy, which I don’t agree with, but we get straight answers from her and other township officials in a timely manner.
Here’s hoping that continues after I leave, and that more and more different voices from East Windsor get in the Herald.
As for that screaming match with Ron Bolandi, it was shorter and much less sweet. But his anger was perfectly understandable. I was about to write an editorial criticizing him for not communicating with us and, by extension the public, about the delayed opening of a school. But, as it turned out, the reporter who told me the superintendent hadn’t returned several calls had never called him. As far as I know, that person is no longer a reporter.
Ron and I moved on to a much more cordial working relationship and, dare I say, after he left the district we spoke several times as friends about his health problems.
Making friends has very little to do with being a reporter or editor. And that is a down side to the business. But I have made several over the last five years and for that I am very grateful.
My very best to those folks, those who have helped me do my job, and to all of the Herald readers … except the few who tried to get me fired.
They say you’re not doing your job in this business unless some people are angry.
For those folks, I guess I’m finally doing something they’re happy about. You’re welcome!
Vic Monaco is managing editor of the Windsor-Hights Herald. Later this month he will join a national online news service, working as an editor in the Pennsylvania town in which he lives.

