VOL. 103, NO. 26
Friday, July 6, 2018
cranburypress.com
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Cranbury committeemen seek to ensure order at meetings By Philip Sean Curran Staff Writer
A Cranbury official is calling for the creation of guidelines members of the public can follow at Township Committee meetings, where a recent surge in attendance and participation have been less the orderly. “Basically, we need to make sure people are not getting up and interrupting each other and just making random speeches and having the room well over capacity in a nonsafe manner,” Committeeman Daniel P. Mulligan III said on June 29. “We just need to
come up with some basic guidelines and keep things moving along in the right way.” Mulligan said the problem has been building and pointed to a meeting last month in which members of the public were talking and arguing out loud, with some people getting up and making impromptu speeches. At a meeting focusing on the local first aid squad, residents on June 11 packed the room where the governing body meets, some even sat on the floor. The capacity of the room is 49 people, standing and sitting. Mulligan said that in recent
months, the governing body has faced topics that carry “a lot of passion” and meetings drew a larger than normal attendance. Although he said officials want more people at their meetings, Mulligan said there has to be a “level of order in the meetings at the same time.” “We can’t let our passions take over,” he said. At times, meetings have had big crowds, such as when affordable housing was an issue. “But for the most part, the frequency is new this year (of) these large crowds,” Committeeman Jay Taylor said on June 29.
In the past, officials moved meetings to a larger venue ahead of time when they anticipated an agenda item would draw a crowd, Taylor said. “But when people show up to talk about it at public comment, we can’t anticipate that,” he said. “So here’s where guidelines will help, because … we can’t see a large crowd and then legally move to the large group room. Guidelines will help people to understand why we’re asking people to leave the room.” Mulligan said he is looking to the governing body to work on basic guidelines that even could
be made as an addendum to meeting agendas. He said he would like the committee to discuss the issue at its meeting July 9. “If people know how to participate the right way,” Mulligan said, “I think they’re even more willing to participate.” Committeeman Michael J. Ferrante said on June 30 that he thought it made “sense to have some guidelines to keep the discussion respectful and productive.” “Democracy isn’t always efficient,” he said. “We need to make sure people feel heard and respected foremost.”
Historian to conduct Cranbury walking tour By Philip Sean Curran Staff Writer
It’s a Friday morning in late June and Richard Moody is hiking, in the heat, in some corner of New Jersey. The familiar British accent on the other end of the phone belongs to the erstwhile fighter pilot turned tour guide, who is resuming his walking tours of Cranbury later this month. “Some people come on it who’ve got historical connections, you know, great-greatgrandfather’s had a farm and all this,” Moody said by phone ahead of the first tour, scheduled for July 22. “There’s a lot to tell. I mean there’s a lot that happened in Cranbury.” Moody, a self-described amateur historian, touched on some of that local history, from George Washington stopping in Cranbury during the Revolutionary War before the battle of Monmouth, to Union troops catching the train to head south during the Civil War. He first got into leading walking tours in Princeton and expanded to doing them in Cranbury after moving into town. One stop in Cranbury is the property on South Main Street where Washington stayed in on June 26, 1778. The tours are sponsored by
the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society, an organization of which Moody is a past board member. “They’re both architectural and historic, so he’s pointing out the architecture of the various houses and buildings and then also telling about them and how they relate to Cranbury’s history,” society Vice President Audrey Smith said on June 29. Moody said Smith approached him about doing tours in Cranbury, as there was no one doing them on a regular basis. “And being an idiot and not able to say no, I said yes,” Moody said. Tours take place in the summer and the fall. In addition to the one later this month, the others are scheduled for Aug. 19, Nov. 18 and Dec. 16, all starting at the Cranbury Museum at 2 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $7 per person, with proceeds going to the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society. Smith said that for the most part, tour-goers come from outside of Cranbury. To reserve a spot on one of his tours, Moody can be reached at 609-819-1359.
Photos by Jarrad Saffren
Lining up The 22nd annual Sunshine Classic was played at The College of New Jersey’s Lions Stadium on June 29. The West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars, 28-20. For more, see page 6A.
State law requires thorough vetting of school employees Legislation sponsored by Assemblywoman Joann Downey (D-Monmouth) to thoroughly vet prospective school employees for allegations of sexual misconduct to prevent sexual predators from working in schools has been signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy. According to a press release,
there have been cases where teachers accused of sexual misconduct involving children in one school were able to find work in other schools where they victimized other children. The past misconduct may not have been shared with the hiring school district, at times because of a nondisclosure agreement, leaving the hiring district without important information. “The way things are set up now, predators seem to have free reign to move from school to school and hurt children without any consequence,” Downey said. “Having a review that is meant to reveal these types of accusations can help protect students from these predators.” The law (A-3381) requires school districts, charter schools, nonpublic schools and contracted service providers to review employment history of prospective employees to discover allegations of child abuse or sexual miscon-
duct involving children, according to the press release. The law prohibits the consideration of a job application unless there is a review of the employment history of the applicant that includes contacting former and current employers, and requesting information regarding child abuse and sexual misconduct allegations involving children. The applicant would only be required to list employers from the prior 20 years that were schools or where the employment involved direct contact with children. Representatives of the school district, charter school, nonpublic school or contracted service provider must ask those employers for a statement as to whether the applicant: • Was the subject of any child abuse or sexual misconduct investigation by any employer, state licensing agency, law enforcement agency, or the Department of Children and Families;
• Investigation of any child abuse or sexual misconduct involving children, by any employer, state licensing agency, law enforcement agency, or the Department of Children and Families, if the investigation resulted in a finding that the allegations were substantiated; • Was disciplined, discharged, non-renewed, asked to resign from employment, resigned from or otherwise separated from any employment while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct; or • Has ever had a license, professional license or certificate suspended, surrendered, or revoked while allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct were pending or under investigation, or due to an adjudication or finding of child abuse or sexual misconduct.
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The applicant must also provide his own written statement disclosing any of the same matters, and provide a written authorization that consents to and authorizes disclosure of the information requested by the prospective employer and releases the applicant’s former and current employers from any liability arising from the disclosure, according to the press release. The information received by a prospective employer under the provisions of the law is deemed not to be a public record. In addition, the law provides that the entity providing information or records to the prospective employer will be immune from criminal and civil liability for the disclosure of the information, unless the information or records provided were knowingly false, according to the press release.
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