Reported gas odor clears Lewis School

by Central Jersey News Updates

Wednesday December 03, 2008, 10:44 AM

PRINCETON -- Authorities evacuated about 100 students and staff members the Lewis School in Princeton after a gas-like odor was reported Tuesday. Four students were taken to the University Medical Center at Princeton after complaining of respiratory ailments.

Although firefighters in the basement detected levels of carbon monoxide of 45 parts per million in the vicinity of the furnace, authorities said the presence of the odorless gas was unrelated to the gas-like smell or to symptoms reported by the students or staff, The Princeton Packet reported.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Trenton to use federal grant to rehire gang expert

by Andrew Kitchenman/The Times

Tuesday November 25, 2008, 10:01 PM

TRENTON -- The city council Tuesday agreed to bring back Barry Colicelli, a gang expert whose contract the council declined to renew in February, after the city received federal money to pay for his position.

Colicelli

Colicelli's company On Target Law Enforcement will be paid $71,149 through June 30 to serve as coordinator for YouthStat, a city program Colicelli previously led that tracks at-risk youth.

Colicelli's contract will be paid through a federal earmark the city received so that YouthStat can be used as a national model, officials said. The city will receive approximately $460,000 over the next three years for the program, according to assistant business administrator Dennis Gonzalez.

The contract would pay Colicelli $75 per hour up to $66,000, as well as up to $1,820 for travel expenses and $3,329 for training. His contract will be reviewed in the spring for possible renewal, Gonzalez said.

The federal grant also will pay for additional expenses related to YouthStat.

Post a comment | View comments (1)

Leaky water main keeps workers busy

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Sunday November 23, 2008, 9:46 PM

TRENTON -- Water department work crews were on Passaic Street late Sunday repairing a failed patch from an earlier water main break.

In the first block of the roadway, between Calhoun and Kafer streets, water was slowly filtering out from a six-inch deep hole roughly two feet in diameter.

A worker at the scene said the patch on the water main should be repaired by the department within a few hours of the 9 p.m. breach. Passaic Street was partially closed while the work took place.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Tough times squeeze Princeton Public Library

by Central Jersey News Updates

Friday November 21, 2008, 10:11 AM

The possibility of reduced hours and staff layoffs looms for the Princeton Public Library after the library's board examined a $4.5 million operating budget, representing a 2.3 percent from last year.

Despite cost-cutting measures including a freeze on non-emergency hiring, a reduction of office costs and elimination of a bonus program for longtime employees, there still could be a reduction in staff and services should the economy worsen, The Princeton Packet reported.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Four teens escape as vehicles sink in West Windsor pond

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Wednesday November 19, 2008, 10:36 PM

WEST WINDSOR -- Four teenage boys "miraculously" escaped serious injury Wednesday when the two vehicles in which they were traveling veered off Conover Road -- missing a utility pole by about a foot -- and sank out of sight in the frigid water of a pond on the Mercer Oaks East golf course, police and emergency officials said.

The four boys -- all 17-year-old township residents whose names were not released -- were able to get out of the vehicles before they became submerged and were able to swim to shore. Two were treated at the scene for "minor injuries," and all four were sent home with their parents, police said.

Trenton Fire Department SCUBA divers were called out to search the large, 10-foot-deep pond for the vehicles and attach cables to them so they could be pulled from the water by tow trucks.

While the crash remains under investigation by Officers Frank Latorre and Lee Evans, township police Lt. Carl Walsh said "speed and driver inexperience" were certainly factors in the crash.

Michael Ratcliffe/The TimesTrenton Fire Department diver Gary Szabo looks on as a tow truck removes a car from the pond next to the 13th green at the Mercer Oaks East golf course in West Windsor Wednesday. Four teenagers escaped unharmed when two vehicles crashed into the pond.

Post a comment | View comments (17)

Water main break sends Montgomery students home

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Tuesday November 18, 2008, 2:33 PM

MONTGOMERY -- A large water main break in Franklin Township that is limiting water pressure in Somerset and Middlesex Counties has resulted in the early dismissal of students from Montgomery schools.

The school administration has reported that Montgomery High School and the Village Elementary schools will be dismissed at 1p.m., and the Upper Middle School, Lower Middle School and Orchard Hill Elementary School will be dismissed at 2 p.m. P.M. kindergarten, after school programs and evening events are canceled.

A boil-water advisory is in effect until further notice.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Bradley officially sworn in as Trenton police director

by Andrew Kitchenman/The Times

Friday November 14, 2008, 8:29 PM

TRENTON -- Irving Bradley Jr. has been leading city police for more than a month, but it became formal Friday with a swearing-in ceremony in which he reached out to both police officers and community members.

Bradley took his oath of office as Trenton's third permanent civilian police director in the city council's chambers, although he started in the position on Oct. 8.

Bradley served with Newark police from 1986 to 2006, ending with two years as police chief. He became Trenton's communications director, supervising the police and fire dispatch, in September 2007.

His father Irving Bradley Sr., Newark schools' head custodian, held the Bible during the oath of office.

Martin Griff/The TimesTrenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer swears Irving Bradley Jr. in as police director during a ceremony at City Hall on Friday. Holding the Bible at center is the new director's father, Irving Bradley Sr.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Robbinsville council approves contract with firefighters

by Carmen Cusido/The Times

Friday November 14, 2008, 6:50 PM

ROBBINSVILLE -- The township council has approved an agreement between the mayor and the fire union for 18 full-time firefighters who had been working without a contract since January 2007 when the fire district was dissolved and the township took it over.

"We had an agreement in principle in August, but the attorneys had to go through all the language changes," said Mayor Dave Fried at Thursday's meeting.

As part of the three-year agreement that expires Dec. 31, 2011, township firefighters would return to a 24 hours "on" and 72 hours "off" work schedule and contribute 1 percent of salary toward health care starting in 2010; new firefighters would not be eligible for post-retirement health-care benefits.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Two injured in head-on collision in Hamilton

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Thursday November 13, 2008, 9:47 PM

HAMILTON -- A two-car collision that injured both drivers is under investigation by township police and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

The accident occurred about 7:30 a.m. Thursday on Nottingham Way near Whitehorse-Hamilton Square Road.

Police said Jason Marinko, 30, of Hamilton, was driving eastbound on Nottingham Way when his car swerved into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with the car being driven by Andrew Laverty, 27, of Robbinsville.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Next stop for Hamilton tree: Rockefeller Center

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Thursday November 13, 2008, 6:29 PM

HAMILTON -- Seventy-four years ago, the tree was sitting in a pot in his family's living room, draped with Christmas ornaments, presents stacked underneath.

This year, the 72-foot-high Norway Spruce will be standing in Rockefeller Center, a 550-pound crystal star adorning its peak.

Bob Varanyak has watched it grow all his life.

"It's a natural, God's creation," he said Thursday, as work crews prepared to take the towering evergreen to New York City. "It's a beautiful tree."

Varanyak and his twin brother William were infants their first Christmas when the tree, then only seven feet in height, was spending its fourth holiday as the centerpiece of the family's decorations.

(Click here for photo gallery)

Post a comment | View comments (3)

Flames damage home of Princeton Theological Seminary professor

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Wednesday November 12, 2008, 9:53 PM

PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- Fire Wednesday night damaged the home of a distinguished professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, but injured no one, firefighters at the scene confirmed.

Michael Ratcliffe/The Times

Fire officials Wednesday night were still investigating the cause of the blaze at Geddes W. Hanson's home on Ross Stevenson Circle -- located off Mount Lucas Road -- but said they do not consider it suspicious in nature.

An ordained Presbyterian minister and a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Hanson became the seminary's first black faculty member when he was hired in 1969 to teach in the areas of administration and ministry, according to the seminary's website.

Their house rendered temporarily uninhabitable by the fire, Hanson and his wife were making arrangements Wednesday night to stay with friends, officials said.

Princeton Fire Chief Dan Tomalin said the homeowners discovered the fire after they were alerted by the blaring alarm of a smoke detector on the home's second floor. Going upstairs to check on the alarm, they discovered smoke and flames, he said.

Michael Ratcliffe/The TimesFirefighters carry a ladder back to a fire engine after battling a blaze in a house on Ross Stevenson Circle in Princeton Township Wednesday night.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Man faints while tarring school roof

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Wednesday November 12, 2008, 5:35 PM

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP -- Firefighters and emergency personnel were called to a Mercer County Technical School building Wednesday afternoon to rescue a worker who had fainted on the roof, police said.

Tarring the roof of Mercer County Technical School's Arthur Sypek Center just before 12:45 p.m. were James Closson Jr., 25 of Crosswicks and other employees of Newark construction firm ER Barrett. For an unknown reason, Closson fainted.

He regained consciousness by the time Pennington First Aid Squad, Pennington Fire Department, Hopewell Valley Emergency Services and Capital Health System paramedics arrived. Police said it was decided Closson would be brought off the roof instead of having him climb down the ladder. The ladder truck lowered him safely to the ground, police said.

The school day was not interrupted, and Closson declined treatment after being evaluated by paramedics.

Post a comment | View comments (2)

Child's skull fractured when TV falls on her in North Brunswick

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Monday November 03, 2008, 8:11 PM

NORTH BRUNSWICK -- A 1-year-old child was injured when a large-screen television fell on her Monday morning, police said.

The child received two skull fractures. Foul play is not suspected. Police believe the child may have rocked the TV unit and caused it to fall.

She was unconscious and bleeding when police arrived, and was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for treatment and observation.

Post a comment | View comments (0)

Stomach bug sickens dozens at Bordentown Twp. school

by Joyce J. Persico/The Times

Monday November 03, 2008, 7:47 PM

BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP -- What was first suspected to be a mere case of "Phillies' fever" is now being investigated by county health officials as a gastrointestinal illness that began spreading through Peter Muschal School on Friday.

Seventy-five of the 573 students in the K-3 elementary school on Ward Avenue called in sick Friday. Suspected of being a contact virus due to the symptoms exhibited by the students -- vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea -- the illness has officials at the Burlington County Health Department testing to see what caused the outbreak that is lessening, but still present, at the school.

According to Dr. Constance Bauer, Bordentown Regional School District superintendent, 27 students called in sick Monday and another 19 were sent home after exhibiting symptoms. As a precaution, the school is being regularly cleaned by its maintenance crew with a bleach solution, not just ordinary disinfectants.

Post a comment | View comments (2)

Ewing will enforce Mischief Night curfew

by Alex Zdan/The Times

Wednesday October 29, 2008, 9:49 AM

EWING -- Township police will be stepping up patrols and enforcing a curfew on the night before Halloween.

In preparation for Mischief Night, an ordinance declaring a curfew for all juveniles from 10 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday will be enforced. Police Chief Robert Coulton said in a news release that additional officers will be on the streets both Mischief Night and Halloween to safeguard property and protect trick-or-treaters.

Police are also reminding drivers to be extra cautious when driving Halloween, to watch out for children who will be going door-to-door in township neighborhoods.

Post a comment | View comments (0)