SPRINGFIELD: Scouts deliver civil discourse

By David Kilby, Special Writer
   SPRINGFIELD — Last week, township Cub Scouts voiced concerns in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
   The superstorm hit New Jersey on Oct. 29 — and millions of Garden State residents were without power — some people for more than a week.
   Nov. 14, a handful of Cub Scouts from Pack 79 of Springfield participated in the Township Council meeting to earn their citizenship badges.
   The Scouts and their leaders had many questions about the damages inflicted on Springfield by Superstorm Sandy.
   Mayor Denis McDaniel said the hurricane was the worst storm he has ever seen in the township, and he’s lived in Springfield since 1966. He said the township did everything it could do, but isn’t used to having power out for a whole week.
   He also said power outage problems is something New Jersey has to look into if the area is going to have big storms like this every year. Even so, Mayor McDaniel said, the state did everything it could do.
   Cub Scout Darren Edinger, 9, asked why one car was left in the middle of Sailor’s Pond Road when it was tangled in electrical wires.
   Councilman Anthony Marinello responded the township couldn’t remove the wires because the wires weren’t designated as dead, and the power companies were too busy taking care of outages and saving people’s lives.
   Mr. McDaniel added that dealing with live wires on the road could have fatal results.
   Darren also asked why the township couldn’t provide residents with water when the power was out, and Mayor McDaniel replied there was water available at Township Hall.
   But Kyle Hill, assistant Cub Scout master, said nobody knew there was water at the municipal building.
   Mr. Marinello replied that enhancing the township’s notification system to notify residents of things like that in times of emergency is one of Springfield’s priorities.
   Not all of the questions were about the hurricane damage.
   Wil Lucy, 10, asked when is the township going to fix Animal Kingdom, a small zoo in Jacksonville that was closed down.
   Councilman David Frank said it’s a private-owned business, and the township has no control over the zoo.
   Cub Master Ira Kupersmit thanked the council for allowing the Scouts to observe and participate in the meeting.
   But Darren had one more comment regarding the new playground to be built at Juliustown Park.
   ”I’d like for some of the pieces (of the playground) to be blue,” he said. “I’d like for some of the pieces to represent the school and colors of the township,” which are blue and gold.
   Nathan Trilling, 9, chimed in and said he also would like to see some gold in the new playground.
   Darren also later said he would like to see the color green used along the exercise station path that’s planned for the playground.
   The council agreed and later in the meeting decided upon the color scheme for the playground, following the Scouts’ requests.
   Mr. Frank said it’s really important for the public to participate and keep an eye on what’s going on in the township.
   He pointed out certain members of the public who attend meetings regularly, including residents Roger Lipincot and Earl Akins.