LT. DANNY BROWN
Witherspoon Street
CURTIS WEBSTER
STEPHEN ALLEN
Blue Curtain
LINDA G. GOCHFELD, M.D.
Meadowbrook Drive
WENDY L. MAGER
President, Friends of Princeton Open Space, Inc.
WILLIAM B. STEPHENSON
Governors Lane
CHIARA NAPPI
Clover Lane
JANET TOWNSEND
MAUREEN DARROW
Mercer Street Friends Food Bank
To the Editor:
Though it is unfortunate that we lost probably the best chief the Princeton Fire Department has had when Pat McAvenia resigned, there are several things that the people of Princeton should know.
First, rest assured that we as the Princeton Fire Department are still an extremely competent emergency response team. Second, like all organizations we have rules and regulations in place to guide us during uncertain times. It is only a matter of a few weeks before the hierarchy will be restored to the Princeton Fire Department. At no time in the past, present, or future have any minor conflicts negatively affected our ability to work together in times of duress. We will continue to do our best to protect our town, its people, buildings, and sense of community.
LT. DANNY BROWN
Witherspoon Street
To the Editor:
Blue Curtain's summer music series of four free concerts in Pettoranello Gardens concluded on Saturday, September 16 with performances to an appreciative crowd by guitarist Greg Merkle and West African dancers and drummers, Kulu Mele. Other shows included Latin Music and original rock. Photos and audio clips of some of the performances can be seen and heard at www.bluecurtain.org.
As the founders of Blue Curtain, we would like to thank all the volunteers who helped out; the Princeton Township Recreation Department — especially Katie Herlihy — for their help in putting the series together; and all the volunteers who made the series special, especially sound man extraordinaire, Don Holloway, for making everyone sound the way they should. We would also like to thank all the great musicians and dancers who performed, including The Michael Gregory Band, Chris Harford and The Band of Changes, Steve Northeast, Yerbabuena, Ya Esta, The Raf Astor Band, Trio Cristal, Greg Merkle, and Kulu Mele, as well as everyone who attended, making it all worthwhile. We'll do it again.
CURTIS WEBSTER
STEPHEN ALLEN
Blue Curtain
To the Editor:
For the 50th Anniversary of the Princeton Shopping Center, we should all recognize its special gift to our community: a beautiful public park, which rivals any I have seen in the world. The flower gardens are gorgeous all through the season. I urge readers to visit them. The summer concerts bring out people of all ages to sit on the lawn with their families and visit with old friends. This is its priceless contribution to help us come together as a community, not just a collection of fine houses. It is funded by the management and merchants of the Princeton Shopping Center, not — as in most public gardens — by tax dollars or volunteers. We owe them a tremendous vote of thanks.
LINDA G. GOCHFELD, M.D.
Meadowbrook Drive
To the Editor:
On September 28 the Princeton Regional Planning Board approved a plan originated by Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) to subdivide 0.8 acres from a 3.2-acre lot on Cherry Hill Road, in order to provide better access to John Witherspoon Woods. Currently, the only direct access to John Witherspoon Woods is a trail from Stuart Road that requires a challenging climb through a boulder field, and a trail from Cherry Hill Road that runs along the edge of a private lot through a wetland. Pursuant to the subdivision, a seven-space gravel parking area will be created that will be accessed from Cherry Hill Road, the wetland trail will be eliminated, and a new trail will exit from the parking area. FOPOS believes this will provide much-improved access to one of our more beautiful natural areas, including a lovely stream that has waterfalls after a good rain. The trails in John Witherspoon Woods, which our board members laid out, connect to those in Mountain Lakes Preserve, Community Park North, and Mountain Lakes North. A map of them can be found at our website, FOPOS.org.
We wish to thank members of the Township and Planning Board staff for their help and technical support on this project, as well as the landowners who are selling the 0.8 acre and the immediate neighbors for working with us. We particularly thank Bob Kiser, Township Engineer, and Greg O'Neil, Township Arborist, for their efforts, which include finding a way to locate the parking area so as to avoid cutting any large trees. We also thank our members and other donors who provided the funds to purchase the property. We are donating the purchase price to the Township.
WENDY L. MAGER
President, Friends of Princeton Open Space, Inc.
To the Editor:
After almost a year, the presentation to the Township Zoning Board by Regal Homes, an outside developer, appears to be reaching a conclusion.
This past year, the developer from Orange has presented a series of extensive presentations by paid witnesses from the outside to attempt to make the point that the Princeton Ridge zoning should be changed to permit the development of high density apartments in this ecologically fragile area.
In the September 27 meeting, formal objections were introduced into testimony by local citizens representing the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, the Environmental Commission of Princeton, and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.
Testimony of a local resident was also taken. This is a resident whose property will be irrevocably damaged if the zoning is changed from what he relied on when he built his home.
Regal Homes attempted to denigrate the testimony of these local citizens, who presented their heartfelt views on the potential damage that might be done to our community by granting a zoning variance.
From the audience, the debate seems to be one between a well-funded campaign by an outsider, and local citizens with strong feelings about what the community should look like in the future. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. The October 25 meeting at the Township Municipal Complex should be interesting.
WILLIAM B. STEPHENSON
Governors Lane
To the Editor:
In her article about moon gardening (Town Topics, October 4), Linda Arntzenius mentions various flowers which open and spread their scent at night. Among them, she mentions the evening primrose (Oenothera). I have recently discovered that the Oenothera grows wild in Princeton along the Delaware & Raritan Canal, both in the diurnal and nocturnal variety. The nocturnal variety is spectacular, since it blossoms instantaneously at dusk, and you can literally see the buds twirl open in front of your eyes. In the summer, if you are lucky, you will also see the luna moth rushing to pollinate the flowers. The two varieties, diurnal and nocturnal, can cross-pollinate, and the diurnal gene is dominant. So, it is not easy to find the nocturnal type, but the attentive and patient observer can find it along the canal.
CHIARA NAPPI
Clover Lane
To the Editor:
We want to alert readers in Princeton to the fact that there is an ongoing fund-raising program in the McCaffrey's and Wegmans supermarkets. At each check-out counter in these stores coupons in $1, $3, and $5 denominations may be added to the customer's grocery bills. The proceeds go directly to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.
The Food Bank has been providing food to agencies and churches in Mercer County for more than 20 years. It distributes an average of 1.3 million pounds of food annually to more than 60 organizations.
Hunger is a pressing problem in many parts of our country. The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank is supplying food to many people in Mercer County who would otherwise go hungry.
We extend our warm thanks to the Wegmans and McCaffrey's markets for their cooperation. Please join us in the fight against hunger by making use of the coupons.
JANET TOWNSEND
MAUREEN DARROW
Mercer Street Friends Food Bank