A4 WednesdAy, July 13, 2016Burlington County times

neWs

Payne, who took over as superintendent for the district in 2011, said this project was in the works before she arrived.

About 10 years ago the school board began look-ing at ways to update or improve base facilities, which had been built in the 1950s. The board conducted its own study and Payne said it yielded about 10 options to either improve the existing facilities or build new ones.

The board began saving money over time to put toward the project.

In January 2011, a team from the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity came out to the buildings, as a part of a nationwide inspection of base schools.

They put together their own report on what should be done to approve the schools, according to the district’s 2012 annual financial report. That report was approved by Congress and recommended that the district apply for funding through the federal Office of Economic Adjust-ment for a new school building to replace the ones on base.

North Hanover received a federal 80/20 grant for the approximately $45 million project. Eighty percent of the project was covered by federal aid, and the district used the capital funding it had been saving for the remaining 20 percent, according to Payne.

Larry Uher, vice president at Netta Architects who is overseeing the project, said these facilities will be much improved.

“Certainly it will be a more modern facility,” Uher said.

The school will contain an updated cafeteria, art rooms, a gymnasium, a multipurpose room and a media center as well as interactive areas for the students to learn in.

He said it will also be slightly separated by grade level, as the prekindergarten program will take place in a separate section of the school.

The plan is make it a “hometown school” for the mil-itary students, according to Payne, since she said many military students don’t feel as if they have that.

She hopes the military community will also be able to use the building to host events and other organized activities.

Once the students are moved out of the two current schools, Payne said the plan is to demolish them once they get permission from the U.S. Department of Educa-tion, which owns the buildings since they are on federal property.

The plan is for site work, such as clearing the land and leveling it out, to take place until the spring, Payne said. Then contractors have about an 18-month con-struction plan to get the building up and running for the start of classes in September 2018.

“It’s time to build it and open it,” Payne said.As for a name, the district is hosting a “suggest a

name” campaign where community members can sub-mit ideas.

“People are smart and creative,” Payne said. “We want to hear their suggestions.”

Interested community members can submit a name suggestion at nhanover.com.Kelly Kultys: 609-500-0429; email: kkultys@calkins.com; Twitter: @kellykultys

schoolContinued from Page A1

Prayer vigil planned for WednesdayWILLINGBORO — The public is invited to a

prayer vigil in response to the violence around the nation over the past week, including the killing of police officers in Dallas.

The Willingboro Clergy Association will host a peace prayer vigil 7 p.m. Wednesday at Parkway Baptist Church at 4 Pennypacker Drive.

All are welcome to the vigil, organizers said.The association hopes to provide comfort and sup-

port to the community amid the violence that has gripped the nation, organizers said.

By lisA ryAnSTaff wriTer

EASTAMPTON — Historic Smithville Park

was teem-ing Tuesday afternoon as visitors to the park’s trails, creek views and historic

grounds were on the hunt. After all, there were Pip-

lups, Shaymins and other creatures to catch and train for battle in the county park along the Rancocas Creek. The park along Smithville Road has become a popular spot in the new “augmented reality” Pokemon Go game that since its release Wednesday has been con-suming smartphone users’ time and data.

The goal, as players will tell you, is to “catch ‘em all.”

Many visitors to the park’s trails split their atten-tion between nature and their phone screens. In the game, players catch, train and battle Pokemon char-acters on their devices. The catch: They literally have to catch theses creature by traveling to real-world loca-tions that double as in-game hotspots. You can’t ‘catch” a Pokemon until the GPS knows you are in range.

Wrightstown resident Joshua Moore, 12, likes this effect, which is made possi-ble with the phone’s camera.

“To have the Pokemon almost in the real world makes it so much fun,” he said.

But this game isn’t just capturing the hearts and screens of the under-18 set. Some older players have returned to Pokemon after discovering it as children. The franchise consists of the video games that preceded Pokemon Go, a card game, and animated series, accord-ing to the official Pokemon website.

Bethany Ferrell, 26, and Shelby Wood, 24, played with the cards as kids. They said this new version, along with the game’s widespread popularity, made Pokemon Go appealing.

With Tuesday off from work, Wood and Ferrell decided to try the app in Smithville Park.

“It’s addicting cause it’s everywhere,” said Ferrell, of Springfield. The popularity of the game has been pushed by social media, including Facebook posts and Twitter feeds.

She and Wood, of Pem-berton Township, like that Pokemon Go uses accurate maps via GPS and even local weather to shape players’ experience. For instance, one would typically catch a water-dwelling Pokemon near a body of water, but they could also be found inland in rainy weather.

The game also turns everyday spots or objects, like a Smithville Park infor-mational sign, into a “gym”

where players train or fight their Pokemon. Players can join one of three teams − Instinct, Mystic or Valor − and attempt to defeat opponents’ Pokemon with their own, claiming the gym for their team.

Wood said gyms are easy to spot because people linger in those areas. Players tap and swipe their screens to control a character’s move-ments in battle.

Moore said Pokemon can show up anywhere, but gyms and “Pokestops,” are specific real-world loca-tions that converge with the game. At Pokestops, users can get items to help them

catch more Pokemon. In addition to fighting for their team, Moore said individu-als strive to catch as many characters as possible.

According to Wood, most Pokestops are churches, monuments and other landmarks.

One item a user could receive at a Pokestop is a Pokemon egg, said Mount Holly resident Alicia Haines. She said the egg will not hatch until the player travels a certain number of kilometers.

“I think it’s cool that it makes people walk,” the 21-year-old said, adding that the game will not register

in-car movement as it does walking.

Activity-inducing though the game may be, reports have surfaced that in spite of the game’s warning to players to “stay alert,” many have tripped or bumped into solid objects while simultaneously playing and walking. A Wyoming teen discovered a body in search of her Pokemon along a river.

And an Australian police department has faced an unexpected influx of visitors since it has been marked a Pokestop.

The intersection of the virtual and real worlds may have benefits, however. Haines’ friend Brittany For-sythe, also of Mount Holly, said not only can friends play together, but strang-ers who cross paths during game-play may also find common ground.

“I’ve seen more people and met more people,” the 18-year-old said of her game-play. “And it’s like ‘Pokemon Go?’ ‘Pokemon Go.’ ”

The Associated Press con-tributed to this report.Lisa ryan: 609-871-8050; email: lryan@calkins.com; Twitter: @Lisar2452

People catch Pokemon, feverThe new interactive game has people searching out characters from the game.

Gamers use their smartphones to track down the elusive characters from the app.

Photos By WilliAm Johnson / for The BCT Bethany ferrell, of Springfield, and Shelby wood, of Pemberton Township, follow clues on the

Pokemon Go app. People are going to historic Smithville Park to play the popular game.

http://bit.ly/1ZebCwh

Jersey Central Power & Light Company (JCP&L) has contracted professional tree care companies for the purpose of conducting vegetation management on electric transmission rights-of-way in parts of Burlington County. JCP&L will be performing vegetation maintenance by removing and pruning trees, mowing vegetation, selectively applying herbicides and manually controlling tall growing incompatible trees that can cause power outages or inhibit access or inspection within the transmission rights-of-way. The goal of vegetation treatments is to promote low growing compatible vegetation which is consistent with safe and reliable operation of the electric facilities and can improve wildlife habitat for native species. Both the selection of the herbicide and the application method are specified by JCP&L. The herbicides are registered and approved for this use by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.Vegetation management will be performed on electric line rights-of-way commencing 7 - 45 days from the date of publication of this notice. Prior to commencing vegetation maintenance, JCP&L will also provide an additional notice to municipalities, and to customers and property owners residing on the property scheduled for vegetation maintenance.Requests for additional information should be directed to: Jersey Central Power & Light Company, 300 Madison Ave. Morristown, NJ 07962-1911, 1-800-662-3115.

NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS OF JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT COMPANY WITH TRANSMISSION

RIGHT-OF-WAY ACROSS THEIR PROPERTY

Tires on Sale

$120$120