‘Tremendous leadership’
To the editor:
I wish to ask the Hopewell Valley Community to join me in acknowledging and thanking Bill Hills for his tremendous leadership during his tenure on the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education.
Six years ago, Bill and runningmates Carl Swanson and Ed Gainsborg stepped up as candidates for a school board that had seen repeated defeats of school budgets and continued criticism of spending within the Hopewell Valley system. The board had struggled with budget issues and then struggled with a newly elected board member who promised to bring fiscal responsibility to the school board, but instead brought scandal and embarrassment in quotes that included attacks on the PTO.
During Bill’s tenure, which included an extended time as board president, integrity and confidence was returned to the Valley school board. This was accomplished even as we weathered additional budgetary tightness and issues including turnover in the office of the superintendent of schools, controversy over the expansion of athletic fields and the football program (just to name a few.) And, Bill led us through a strategic planning process that reached out and touched a large population in the Valley and continues to serve as a beacon today.
Thanks, Bill.
Joe Schenk, Titusville
Tried to volunteer
To the editor:
Attention Hopewell Township:
When are you going to appoint the volunteers to their committees? If I remember, you made a plea that you needed volunteers to fill vacated positions. In fact, it was implied that, if these positions were not filled the committee could not function legally. Even if they could function legally, there would not be enough persons to do the amount of work or projects they feel need to be done.
Come on! Give them a break. Help them. You made a promise. Are you the party that said: "We could do better"? Or was it the other people? Seriously, what is the reason for the delay? Politics? Wrong party? Wrong person? You do not like them? Personally or generally? Not qualified for the position? Too busy with other things? Prioritizing?
Please, let us know so that we may adjust our life patterns. For instance, I volunteered to fill a position in September 2004. In March 2005 no word from anybody yet. So in March, I said: "Give me back my resume. It was a hoax. They didn’t need anybody." Otherwise, someone would have contacted me one way or another.
The answer was that it had been submitted. I was part of the public in one meeting where they postponed a project of 10 components because they did not have enough filled positions to accomplish their goal. What if this is happening to the other committees?
If George Washington waited this long to accept his volunteers we would all be speaking German and called Hessians.
Don Mauer, Hopewell Township
Get garden help Saturday!
To the editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to invite Valley residents to attend the Spring Garden Festival and Plant Sale on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Mercer County Home Compost Site and Gardens, located on 431A Federal City Road, next to the Equestrian Center here in Hopewell Township.
If you have gardening and environmental questions or concerns on your home landscape bring them on Saturday to a well-trained and friendly group of volunteers, the Master Gardeners of Mercer County. Master Gardeners will be on hand to help you with your questions and concerns, advice on soil quality, deer deterrents, weed identification, and much, much more.
County Horticulturist Barbara J. Bromley also will also be on hand to answer questions and give advice. Don’t hesitate to bring samples, bugs, and problems to the event. In addition, there will be a super plant sale with "Best of the Best" perennials, gorgeous herbs and scented geraniums, all chosen by knowledgeable Master Gardeners with Mercer County gardens in mind.
The Master Gardener Program is not a garden club. It was created by the Extension to meet an enormous increase in requests from home gardeners for horticultural information. The increase derives primarily from the urban and transient nature of modern American life. Fifty years ago, an Extension agent dealt with the questions of farm families. Since then, much of this farmland has been subdivided, increasing the number of families Extension must serve. In addition, many of these families are new to the area and are unfamiliar with the grasses, shrubs, trees, diseases, insects, etc. that populate their new homes. They often call Extension for advice.
The first Master Gardener Program was started in 1972 in Washington State. Since then, the program has spread to 48 states including New Jersey. Fifteen of New Jersey’s 21 counties now have Master Gardener programs. The Mercer County program started in September 1993.
As part of the Cooperative Extension Services, Master Gardeners are supported in their efforts by Rutgers University and the county. The Master Gardeners of Mercer County (MgofMC) are a group of well-trained and dedicated volunteers who love to garden. MGofMC seeks to extend the efforts of the Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension of Mercer County into the community using trained and certified volunteers; establish educational programs in which Master Gardeners help residents of Mercer County obtain up-to-date recommendations from Rutgers University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and assist county or community organizations and individuals libraries, parks, municipalities, retired persons, newcomer clubs, garden clubs, handicapped people, needy persons, or any other potential audience by disseminating horticultural information and assistance.
Nora Sirbaugh, president, Master Gardeners of Mercer County, Pennington
