SALLY T. OSMER
Director
The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton
LAURA HUNTSMAN
HERBERT MERTZ
BARBARA PARMET
SUSANNA WATERMAN
Whole Earth Center Board of Trustees
JOHN G. QUIGLEY
Winant Road
DAN BAUER
Director of Public and Community Relations
McCarter Theatre
STEVE FRAKT
Lake Drive
To the Editor:
Valentine's Day seems like a long time ago, but the fabulous Valentines of Food drive has continued to help hungry people in our area through the first week of May. Thanks to the generous gifts from the greater Princeton community and the amazing match to double the amount, The Crisis Ministry had a credit for $14,000 at McCaffrey's. The wonderful news is that the funds lasted for 3 months.
Since mid-February, The Crisis Ministry has provided 3,000 Mercer County households with nutritious food from these gifts. Each week we placed an order from McCaffrey's with the Valentine credit. The McCaffrey's staff made the entire experience a joy as they not only made the financial gift but also handled every food order with care. The Valentines of Food helped the most vulnerable citizens in the Princeton and Trenton areas. It also helped The Crisis Ministry use our funds to pay for other needs of our low-income neighbors, such as high utility bills and rent payments to prevent homelessness.
Thanks to all who made the food drive a three month success!
SALLY T. OSMER
Director
The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton
To the Editor:
The Whole Earth Center is honored to have received the Princeton Environmental Commission's First Annual Sustainable Princeton Leadership Award. Our deep gratitude goes to the Commission and to the Princeton-area residents who nominated us for this award. When we started 36 years ago, we never dreamed how far we as a nation and a community would have come in embracing organic agriculture, fair trade, reuse and recycling, and many of the other environmental and social issues that inspired our start.
But success has created new challenges. Increased demand for organic foods has led to the industrialization of organic agriculture which threatens the livelihood of many of the small to medium-sized farms that started this movement. Rising demand for environmentally friendly alternatives has led to rising confusion over which products and companies are truly green. And consolidation and standardization are bankrupting small businesses and homogenizing the American landscape. In the face of these challenges, we remain committed to being a store where Princeton residents can use their food dollars to support small-scale local organic farmers, reward farmers who commit to feeding their cattle only on grass never on grain, buy only cruelty-free body care products, reduce the miles that organic foods travel and the extensive packaging that accompanies it on that journey, and fund environmental education and activism within the local community.
Sustainability reflects a deep commitment to the health and well-being of future generations. Princeton, with our pedestrian friendly town center, fertile farmland, community of locally owned businesses, and forward-thinking residents and government, has the potential to become a national leader in sustainable living. The challenges are many, but we look forward to working with our community to make that dream a reality.
LAURA HUNTSMAN
HERBERT MERTZ
BARBARA PARMET
SUSANNA WATERMAN
Whole Earth Center Board of Trustees
To the Editor:
As a resident of Princeton Township, I am writing to lend my voice to those of the many citizens who have expressed with such clarity why the merger of the police departments of Princeton Township and Princeton Borough is a terrible idea.
That the idea has been vehemently opposed by many, including longtime residents and members of the Township Police Department, says something dramatic. From my perspective, the notion of the merger is a very bad idea due to the massive cost, inefficiency, and redundancy which the merger would entail; and, more importantly, because I feel that the Township residents would suffer degradation of the quality of policing they receive. I have been struck by the level of professionalism, responsiveness, and courtesy of the Princeton Township Police Department, and would hate to see those who live in the Township have that compromised in any way.
JOHN G. QUIGLEY
Winant Road
To the Editor:
As you and your readers know, McCarter Theatre presented a special benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina Relief on Tuesday, May 9 featuring New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The net proceeds of the concert were donated to the New Orleans Musician Hurricane Relief Fund, established by Preservation Hall.
What you may not know is that McCarter received such incredible community support from area businesses (read: donated services) that the substantial Preservation Hall donation exceeded all estimates: over $28,000. For that we owe thanks not only to those who attended the concert but also to the real champion of the concert, McCarter's Special Programming Director Bill Lockwood.
This year, Preservation Hall is celebrating its 45th anniversary season. Mr. Lockwood has been programming for McCarter since the early 1960s, bringing Preservation Hall Jazz Band to McCarter for the past four decades. As you can see, these two institutions have a long history together! So the concert carried extra significance, because it reunited Bill Lockwood and Preservation Hall at the same time that it generated such significant support for the musicians of New Orleans.
The following businesses donated their services for the event: Business Bistro Catering, Hyatt Regency Princeton, Press Room, WXPN, Princeton University's Council on the Humanities, and Princeton's Department of Music and Program in Theatre and Dance.
On behalf of McCarter Theatre and the New Orleans Musician Hurricane Relief Fund, I thank them all for their support and consideration.
DAN BAUER
Director of Public and Community Relations
McCarter Theatre
To the Editor:
As a former Deputy Mayor of Princeton Township, I write in strong support of Scott Carver in the Democratic primary for Township Committee on June 6.
Mr. Carver has impressive professional expertise in municipal law, has extensive community involvement through many volunteer activities (including service as president of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization), and has developed responsible approaches for dealing with the most pressing needs and concerns of our residents (see his web site, www.vote4carver.com).
Most important of all, Scott Carver is thoughtful, engaging, energetic, and resourceful. He would be a tremendous asset to this community as a member of the Princeton Township Committee.
STEVE FRAKT
Lake Drive