Volume LXXIV, Number 1
White House Tourists Hear Concert by Local Teens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 JFCS Takes its Food Pantry on the Road . . . . 9 Dancing Around the Decade — A Swing Time Retrospective . . . . . . . . 13 Connolly Stars as PU Women’s Hoops Routs New Hampshire . . . . . . 25 Senior Zammit Playing for Both PHS Boys’ and Girls’ Hockey . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Jennifer Podolsky Named New Executive Director of Princeton Public Library . . . . . . . . 7 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .18, 19 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classified Ads . . . . . . 32 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New to Us . . . . . . . . 20, 22 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing Arts . . . . . 14 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 31 School Matters . . . . . . . 7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
FOHW Volunteers Look Forward to Veblen Property Lease Friends of Herrontown Woods (FOHW), a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the trails, history, and flora of Herrontown Woods and to honoring the legacy of Oswald and Elizabeth Veblen, is looking forward to early 2020 ratification of a lease agreement negotiated with the town of Princeton. Since 2013 FOHW has been caring for about 220 acres of public land at Herrontown Woods and Autumn Hill Reservation, the first dedicated nature preserve in Princeton “and apparently in Mercer County as well,” according to FOHW president Steve Hiltner, who is a botanist and naturalist. With a formal lease, Hiltner said, FOHW will be able to apply for grants, broaden its contributor base, and hire workers to complete needed repairs on the Veblen House and Cottage. “The cottage is envisioned as a nature center,” Hiltner said. “That’s where Einstein and Veblen would have hung out on a Saturday afternoon.” Other structures on the property include a barn, a corn crib, and a garage. Hiltner continued, “The house and cottage, in addition to being the only infrastructure available to serve open space in eastern Princeton, provide a broad profile of cultural history from the early 20th century, from the hardscrabble farmers who built the cottage to the economic and intellectual elite of the Whiton-Stuarts and the Veblens. Tying it all together is Oswald Veblen, the founding faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study, who loved both intellectual endeavors and outdoor work.” Highlights of 2019 for FOHW included construction of a new trail through 7.5 acres of sloping woodland donated to Princeton in 2018; many trail improvements; expansion of a botanical garden with 100 native plant species; collaboration with the town on control of invasive species; working to keep buildings secure and dry; and evaluating the structures in preparation to begin repairs in 2020. In addition, FOHW enlisted Girl Scout Cadette Troop 72905 to install interpretive signage, and conducted education and outreach programs through the Princeton Public Library, local schools, websites, and regular nature walks led by area naturalists. In 2017 Mercer County transferred Continued on Page 9
AddisonWolfe.com
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
PPS Plans Ahead, Eyes Westminster Property With overcrowding and increasing enrollments throughout the district, the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) have been looking for room to grow and paying attention to the changing plans of their neighbor just across Walnut Lane, the Westminster Choir College campus of Rider University. When Rider University recently announced plans to close the Westminster site in Princeton and relocate the school to its Lawrenceville campus, protests ensued, and two pending lawsuit may prevent the University from moving the school. At last month’s PPS Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Superintendent Steve Cochrane cited growth projections of several hundred students for the district over the next five years and emphasized the challenges of managing and finding space for that growth. “We need to plan for that growth in ways that consider numerous factors, including facility and play area expansion, land use throughout the community, sustainability, potential redistricting, educational vision, and, of course, affordability
and diversity,” he said. Speaking specifically about the possible availability of the property currently occupied by Westminster, Cochrane continued, “As stewards for the Princeton Public Schools, we have a responsibility to be prepared for that possibility and for the implications of having potentially 23 acres of land become available immediately next door to our middle school and high school. Consequently, we have been doing our homework.” Cochrane stated that the PPS and Rider, with their lawyers, have had several “fact-finding” conversations over the
past six months “to gain a better sense of the legal issues relating to the property as well as the proposed move of the Choir College to Lawrenceville.” “The Choir College has been a great neighbor and partner to our schools for decades,” Cochrane continued. “We often share facilities, and for years students from the Choir College taught music at our middle school. If the Choir College were to remain in Princeton, we would be delighted to continue that partnership.” Cochrane noted that Rider currently intends to keep a portion of the property and Continued on Page 8
Death of Rabbi Adam Feldman Saddens Local Community
The sudden death of Rabbi Adam S. Feldman, who has been senior rabbi of The Jewish Center for nearly 15 years, shocked not only members of the congregation, but people from throughout the local community. Feldman, 55, suffered a heart attack on December 24 while rappelling down a mountain in Hawaii, where he was vaca-
tioning with his family. Funeral services were held Sunday at The Jewish Center, and observance of shiva is continuing through Friday, January 3 at the Feldmans’ home and at the synagogue. “He was a very compassionate individual. If there is one word to describe him, that’s it,” said Randy Brett, president of Continued on Page 10
REDCOATS IN RETREAT: The Princeton Battlefield Society presented its annual “Experience the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777” on Sunday morning, commemorating one of the most pivotal battles of the Revolutionary War . The event included the re-creation of the battle at Battlefield State Park by re-enactors representing the Continental and British units involved . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)