Volume LXXV, Number 38
www.towntopics.com
Shifting COVID Threat Poses Big Challenges For Princeton Schools
Grant for Research Into Childhood Cancer Awarded To PU Student . . . . . . . . 5 Nationally Known Urban Planner to Speak in Princeton . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Resolutions Related to Deer Culling Have Long History . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Reflections on Joss Whedon and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer . . . . . . 19 PSO Presents Music for a Late Summer Evening . . 20 Senior Star Weir Piling Up Goals as PHS Field Hockey Starts 3-0 . . . . . . . . . . 33 Sparked by Suriel’s Flashy Play, Hun Boys’ Soccer Defeats Mercersburg . . 36
Collin Eaddy Helps PU Football Top Lehigh 32-0 in Opener . . . . . . .30 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .24, 25 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classified Ads . . . . . . 40 New to Us. . . . . . . . . . 27 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 38 Performing Arts . . . . . 21 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 12 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 40 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
A Princeton Middle School (PMS) student has tested positive for COVID-19, PMS Principal Jason Burr notified parents and staff in an email Monday night, September 21, the seventh new case in the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) in the past several days. The middle school student, who was last at school on Friday, September 17, will isolate, and one close contact will quarantine, Burr reported. PPS has stated that it will “continue to follow protocols and do the necessary contact tracing in each instance that is brought to our attention. Further we are continually adapting and responding to new information and guidelines as they emerge.” PPS follows the CDC definition of a close contact as “someone who was within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from two days before the onset of illness.” Earlier on Monday Littlebrook School Principal Luis Ramirez informed the school community that two Littlebrook students, who had last attended school on Friday, September 17, were exposed outside of school and had tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. The two students are isolating, and 11 Littlebrook students who are considered close contacts are quarantining for 10 days. Also on Monday, Princeton High School Principal Frank Chmiel reported in an email to the school community that a third PHS student, who was last in school on September 13, had tested positive for the coronavirus. That student will isolate for 10 days, and one close contact will quarantine for 10 days. Chmiel sent out emails last week announcing new cases involving one PHS student who was last at school on Friday, September 10 and another student who was last at school on Tuesday, September 14. Earlier last week PPS Superintendent Carol Kelley announced that a fully vaccinated Community Park staff member had tested positive for coronavirus after being exposed outside of the district. The staff member remained in isolation for 10 days in accordance with CDC and New Jersey Department of Health guidelines. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Continued on Page 13
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Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Battle Lines Drawn on Prospect Avenue Plans The future of the former Court Clubhouse at 91 Prospect Avenue, three Queen Anne Victorian houses on the other side of the street, and the Prospect Avenue streetscape are all on the agenda at tomorrow night’s September 23 meeting of the Princeton Planning Board (PPB). Princeton University is seeking a zoning variance in order to demolish the three houses and move the 91 Prospect clubhouse building into their place in order to provide space to construct the Prospect Avenue entrance to its planned Environmental Studies and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES+SEAS) complex. The new ES+SEAS is designed to include four different buildings and to stretch out over 666,000 square feet between Prospect and Ivy Lane to the south. The University’s plans for Prospect Avenue have met with strong resistance from the community, with a petition in opposition gathering 1,626 signatures at last count and numerous residents voicing criticism and objections at the previous two PPB hearings and in public media (See letters on the subject in today’s Mailbox). Thursday’s PPB meeting on the Princeton University application, the first since
July 8, will provide one more opportunity for public input before the PPB members deliberate and come to a decision on whether to approve the University’s plan. The University has repeatedly emphasized the importance of its project and the impossibility of completing that project without removing the 91 Prospect building. A University press release earlier this month stated, “From addressing climate change to developing new ways of delivering vaccines, Princeton’s proposed
engineering and environmental studies project will enable breakthrough teaching and research in the service of humanity while enhancing the public experience of the surrounding neighborhood.” The press release continued, “The four buildings — environmental science, bioengineering, chemical and biological engineering, and an engineering commons — will create a new ES+SEAS neighborhood carefully integrated into the Continued on Page 13
BOE Candidate Profile: Brian McDonald, Seeking Continuing Progress for Schools Brian McDonald, an incumbent seeking his second three-year term on the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE), is in the spotlight this week, providing information about his background, why he got involved with the schools, why he wants to continue on the Board, and what his priorities are for the future of the district. New candidates Mara Franceschi and Jeffrey Liao, and incumbent Betsey Baglio will be competing with McDonald in the November 2 election for three available seats on the BOE. Franceschi was
featured in last week’s issue, and Town Topics will present profiles of Liao on September 29 and Baglio on October 6. McDonald, 61, is a sculptor and designer who also advises nonprofits on matters of governance, strategy, finance, and fundraising. He has extensive experience in strategic planning, operations, municipal and corporate finance, and management, especially change management. A 1983 Princeton University graduate, McDonald served from 2002-10 as the University’s vice president for Continued on Page 10
FALL FUN ON THE FARM: Terhune Orchards on Cold Soil Road continues its Fall Family Fun Weekends through October 31. Activities include a play area, barnyard animals, an adventure barn, hay bale and corn mazes, pony rides, live music, pickyour-own apples and pumpkins, and more. Visit terhuneorchards.com for timed admission tickets. Festivalgoers share what they are looking forward to this fall in this week’s Town Talk on Page 6. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)