Volume LXXIV, Number 14
Shakespeare Enthusiasts Keep Plays Alive Via Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 HomeFront Ramps Up to Help Homeless . . . . . . 8 COVID-19 Intensifies Need For Neighborhood Buddy Program . . . . . 10 "Just Life, Dear Life" with C .K . Williams . . . . . . 12 PDS Girls’ Hockey Showed Progress to the End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Local Playing Fields Eerily Quiet with Games Canceled Due to COVID-19 . . . . 21
Carlie Littlefield Has Unfinished Business for PU Women’s Hoops . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .14, 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classified Ads . . . . . . 25 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 17 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 23 Performing Arts . . . . . 13 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 25 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Princeton’s Response Mounts as Coronavirus Cases Continue to Grow As New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday another major surge in coronavirus cases and deaths in the state, a coalition of Princeton organizations continued to collaborate to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. There were 69 new deaths in New Jersey announced yesterday, March 31, for a total of 267, and more than 2,000 new positive tests for a total of 18,696 coronavirus (COVID-19) cases throughout the state. The Princeton Health Department on Tuesday reported 28 total COVID-19 cases, and there were 268 total cases reported by Mercer County. In collaboration with health partners, Mercer County has opened a drive-up testing site for COVID-19 at Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence. The testing center is by appointment only for symptomatic Mercer County residents age 18 and older who have a prescription from their primary health care provider. In Princeton, the Princeton Children’s Fund (PCF) — in collaboration with Princeton Community Housing, the Princeton Human Services Department, the Princeton Senior Resource Center, and Send Hunger Packing Princeton (SHUPPrinceton) — has established a Coronavirus Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to help Princeton families in need of financial support because of income loss during the COVID-19 crisis. “We are asking the community to consider donating money to be used to pay day-to-day expenses that will be incurred by families who are unable to work during the shutdowns and curfews,” stated a PCF press release. Donations can be made online at www.princetonchildrensfund.org and are fully tax deductible. To qualify for aid, applicants must be Princeton residents or have a child in Princeton Public Schools; must have suffered financial burdens as a result of COVID-19; must present supporting documentation; must have an income under the New jersey Council on Affordable Housing limit; and must have exhausted other options for financial assistance. PCF President Felicia Spitz reported that PCF had received 25 applications as of Monday and was expecting many more in the next week as April rent checks come due. She noted that the PCF social workers, five out of seven of who are dual language speakers, Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Flexible Schools Respond to COVID-19 Crisis The schools are closed and empty, but remote learning is taking place with increasing intensity and purpose at the Princeton Public Schools (PPS). Technological devices like PowerSchool Learning, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Instagram, social media, email, and the telephone have replaced the desks, classrooms, and white boards of the PPS. “It’s all about flexibility right now,” said Princeton High School (PHS) Principal Jessica Baxter. “We’re all learning and changing and evolving. It’s a minute-tominute situation. These are unprecedented times.” Early this week Assistant Superintendent Annie Kosek said, “Our teachers are finding creative ways to engage students through activities like virtual morning meetings, small and large group chats, live and videotaped lessons, funny motivational videos, ‘spirit days’ like Crazy Hat Day, and teaching in a Google Hangout. Learning is often best as a social experience, and our teachers are striving to maintain social interaction despite our current state of social distancing.” Teachers and librarians are holding story time, which apparently has a calming effect on both students and their parents. Teachers are sending emails and
making personal check-in phone calls, and administrators are staying connected through messages, songs, magic tricks, and daily food for thought using online platforms and social media. “With only one or two days’ notice, our lives changed,” Baxter wrote in a letter to families on March 19, after the first three days of remote learning. “As educators we were told we had to work from home and teach our students remotely. As parents we were forced to figure out child care and the home schooling of our children
in addition to either still having to go out to work or work from our homes. Our students and children were told they couldn’t come to school, see their friends, play sports, be children. Some kids became caregivers and children for younger siblings in addition to being full-time students themselves.” She continued, “We all find ourselves in an impossible situation. But we are figuring it out, and kudos go out to everyone. The teachers are working together Continued on Page 7
First Aid and Rescue Squad Prepares for the Virus’ Peak With cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) expected to peak during the next few weeks, Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad (PFARS) is gearing up for what could be unprecedented demand. An integral part of the team is Princeton High School graduate Bryan Hill, a volunteer with the squad and an emergency medical technician (EMT) who has two bachelor of science degrees and is a candidate for a doctorate in nursing. Hill does a daily email briefing for members, culled from data he gathers from the daily updates by Gov. Phil Murphy, the
Centers for Disease Control, and other sources. “I boil it down to what we need to be focusing on as a first aid squad,” he said last week. “I’ve been working countless hours, seven days a week, for the past two and a half weeks to make sure we’re ahead of the curve before we get this surge that is expected in mid-April.” Heading infection control for the squad, Hill has been doing his best to keep members healthy. “His medical background makes him the ideal person for this,” said PFARS President Mark Freda. “And he Continued on Page 10
SPRING IN BLOOM: A blooming pear tree provides a lovely sight in uncertain times as a few people enjoy some fresh air while practicing social distancing on Nassau Street . (Photo by Erica M. Cardenas)