DECEMBER 2021 FREE
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Turning citizens into leaders
Titusville Academy celebrates 50 years By Sue Ferrara
County college program would help residents become more engaged in civic affairs By ReBeKaH SCHroeDer
The United States is divided by numerous issues. People are increasingly at odds with each other, and the process of making important change is difficult, if not impossible. It is in this political climate that Mercer County Community College recently unveiled a multi-pronged program to combat the situation by educating citizens and empowering them to become leaders within their communities. The college has teamed up with The Citizens Campaign, a Metuchen-based nonprofit organization that works to ensure that discourse can be helpful, not harmful, and urges that people do not have to be elected officials or stop their advocacy at the ballot box. “Anyone can fight to make a difference,” is the group’s message. One piece of the program is the establishment of a Citizen Leadership Center in partnership with The Citizens Campaign. The purpose of the center, which will be located See CIVICS, Page 10
Hopewell Township committeewoman-elect Uma Purandare, left, with husband Ashok, daughter Radhika and son Rohit in Madrid in January 2019.
Purandare ‘humbled and honored’ to serve on township committee By Joe EMansKi
Uma Purandare can look out the window of her home in Brandon Farms and see the house of Hopewell Township Mayor Julie Blake. When Blake decided in September not to run for a third term on the township committee, and Purandare stepped in as the Democratic candidate, the mayor did not literally hand over a baton to her neighbor. Purandare still had to run for, and win, a seat that Blake has held for almost six years. But when all the votes were counted on Nov. 3, Purandare had received 4,210 votes to Republican Edward “Jack” Jackowski’s 2,911, meaning
she could grab that baton at last — figuratively at least. Purandare says she has big shoes to fill in taking Blake’s seat on the committee. “We’ve been friends and neighbors for 20 years. She’s been my mentor. I have seen her working like crazy during this Covid pandemic, and I would really like to commend her for her work and thank her for her leadership,” Purandare said in a Nov. 21 phone call with the Express. Blake told the Express in September that she did not want to step aside unless she had confidence that the Democrats could name a good candidate to take her place on the ballot. After deciding not to run, she spoke to Purandare
about taking her place on the ballot. “When Uma said she might consider it, I said, ‘OK, we’re headed in the right direction,’” Blake said. “It’s really nice to have somebody who lives in the southern part of the town, who knows what the southern part of the town cares about. We want as many voices on that committee as possible.” Purandare is no stranger to public service. She has served for the last six years on the township’s zoning board — as Blake did before her. “When she approached me, saying she needs a break, I was humbled and honored that she had that trust in me,” See PURANDARE, Page 4
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In 1968, as he campaigned across the country for the job of U.S. President, then U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy(DNY) would often say, “Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.” Kennedy never got to put his “why not” into action, but he certainly inspired others to try. At the time of Kennedy’s death in 1968, Professor Stephen P. Hritz was 41-years-old; and his “why not” was focused on teaching and learning for all students. But Hritz’s “why not” didn’t just hang in the air as “why nots” so often do. Instead, fi fty years ago, his “why not” became a school for children needing different kinds of learning experiences. And this year, The Titusville Academy is celebrating the lasting vision of its founder. In order to truly understand the significance of the 50th Anniversary of The Titusville Academy, located in Hopewell Township, one needs to recall (or learn) the educational landscape of 1971, the year Stephen P. Hritz opened the Princeton School for Exceptional Children, which ultimately became The Titusville Academy. PSEC was first hosted on the grounds of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton. See ACADEMY, Page 8
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