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An Independent Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of the People of Hightstown and East Windsor

158 — NO. 2 HIGHTSTOWN GAZETTE, MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY SEPTEMBER 2005 Price: Thirty-Five Cents

BROADWAY CLASSIC ‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’ COMES TO KELSEY THEATREPucker up for “one last kiss”

and let the fun begin. “Bye Bye Birdie” starts off the 2005- 06 season at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre on Sept. 16.

This celebrated homage to early rock and roll and life in small town America is presented by The Pennington Players on Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 16, 17, 23, and 24 at 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 2 p.m. (Due to the show’s expected appeal, matinees have been scheduled for both Saturdays and Sundays.) Kelsey Theatre is located on Mercer s -west Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

An opening night reception follows the Sept. 16 performance to give the audience a chance to enjoy refreshments with the cast and crew.

The hilarious plot swirls around rock and roll superstar Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the army. As a publicity stunt, Birdie’s manager arranges to have him visit the sleepy town of Sweet Apple, Ohio, to bestow his one last kiss as a civilian upon a lucky fan. Chaos ensues as Sweet Apple residents cope with life in the spotlight.

With a musical score that boasts some of Broadway’s most well known numbers - “One Boy,” “One Last Kiss,” “Put on a Happy Face,” “Baby, Talk to Me,” and “A Lot of Livin’ To Do” - this production by The Pennington Players will give a whole new generation of theater goers an opportunity to experience an American theater classic.

Starring in “Bye Bye Birdie” are: James Petro ofLawrenceville as Albert Peterson; Melissa Marschner

Starring in the Pennington Players' production of "Bye, Bye Birdie" are, left to right, Holly Eaton of Somerset as Doris MacAfee, Michaela Tomcho of Hamilton as Kim MacAfee, Jay Harris of East Windsor as H arry MacAfee, and Alex Hernandez of Hamilton as Conrad Birdie. The production comes to MCCC's Kelsey Theatre Sept. 16-25.

of Monroe Township as Rose Alvarez; Jay Harris of East Windsor as Harry MacAfee; Holly Eaton of Somerset as Doris MacAfee; Andrea Cartagena of Cranbury as Mae Peterson; Stephanie Delaney of Newtown, Pa., as Gloria Rasputin; Jesse Girard of Lawrenceville as Randolph MacAfee; Alex Hernandez of Hamilton as Conrad Birdie; Michaela Tomcho of Hamilton as Kim MacAfee; Tess Ammerman of Allentown as Ursula Merkel; and Keenan Westcott of Hamilton as Hugo Peabody.

Other featured performers are James Zimmerman of Hamilton as Harvey Johnson; Shane Courtney of Hamilton as Fred; John Boccanfuso of Yardville as Carl; Heather Wiese of Titusville as Alice; Caitlin Tierney of Princeton as

Debra Sue; Laurel Johnson of Lawrenceville as Nancy; Jennifer Jacob of New Hope, Pa., as Helen; Samantha Chapman of Princeton Junction as Margie; Christine Jackson of Philadelphia, Pa., as Penelope; Michael Schiumo of Clarksburg as the mayor; Kristina Mancini of Ewing as the mayor’s wife; Cheryl Kurtz Mills of Hamilton as Mrs. Merkel; Debbie Ryan of Robbinsville as Mrs. Johnson; Gem Perkins of Morrisville, PA, as a reporter/stage manager; and John Russell of Mercerville as a reporter.

Dancers and other ensemble cast members include: Elizabeth Bartlett of Hamilton, Adam Carlitz of New Hope, Pa., Mark D’Zurilla of Titusville, Elizabeth Deamer of Hamilton, Alessandra Farina of Hamilton, Erica Graff of

Hamilton, Kimberly Konczos of Hamilton, Adrienne Kubiak of Trenton, Hannah Mills of Hamilton, Taylor Mills of Hamilton, Kevin Palardy of Doylestown, Pa., Brent Rivers of Robbinsville, and Ben Walker of Bordentown.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $10 for students and children. Free parking is available next to the theatre.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.kelseyatmccc. org or by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-584-9444.

Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible and provides assisted listening devices upon request.

For a complete listing of adult and children’s events, visit the Kelsey webpage or call the box office for a brochure.

HIGHTSTOWN MEMORIAL

LIBRARY HAS HOT SPOT

The Hightstown Memorial Branch of the Mercer County Library System has become the seventh to be equipped as a wireless Hot Spot for Internet access.

Wireless Internet access is provided to the general public free of charge and is available throughout the building to anyone who has a wireless- ready notebook computer or handheld device. The wireless Internet is available tor use anywhere in the building, and wall accommodate up to 24 patrons at a time. Library Director Ellen Brown points out that the wireless Internet also can be used by groups giving programs within the library.

The Hightstown Branch joins the Hickory Corner, Hopewell, Lawrence, Twin Rivers and West Windsor Branches in receiving the connection free of charge through the Comcast Cable in the Classroom program.Washington Township Library has been connected through the generosity of Cablevision.

HOW TO REACH THE GAZETTE

While the Hightstown Gazette transitions into the future, a temporary telephone has been set-up, 609-443-6464. An e-mail address has been established, hightstowngazette @earthlink.net. We suggest using either of these means of communication to reach the Gazette efficiently.

http://www.kelseyatmccc

Neighborhood housing repair funds availableLow- and moderate-income

Hightstown homeowners may be eligible for up to $16,000 for home repairs through the Hightstown Neighborhood Housing Repair Flind.

The borough created the program to assist its residents, many of whom live on fixed incomes, are long retired, and have been, in some cases, lifetime residents of the borough.

For many eligible residents the repairs funded through the program can often create a substantial difference in a resident’s quality of life.

“Our hope is to help our residents be safer and more comfortable at home.,” said Hightstown Mayor Bob Patten.

He expressed a desire to help people continue to live in town rather than move out when repairs become financially overwhelming. “We’d like to keep residents here, in Hightstown, where their family and friends five around them.”

Homeowners whose total household income falls within certain income guidelines may be eligible to participate in the program. For example, homeowners with a household size of two and maximum income of $50,867 may apply for funds for home repair as a no interest (zero percent) six-year forgivable loan. No monthly payments are required and.

if the homeowner maintains the title of the home and continues to live in the home for a six year period following the program’s repair or rehabilitation work, the loan is forgiven without any cost to the homeowner.

Eligible home repairs range from fixing or replacing the roof, electrical system, heating system, plumbing, sanitary sewer and water connections.

The program even includes repairs that help to weatherize homes, repair foundations and improve accessibility for residents with disabilities.

Hightstown’s program has already enabled more than 25 homeowners to make much-needed repairs.

Hightstown resident Marita McDonald heard about the NHRF program through a member of the Hightstown Borough Council. The second generation to live in her circa 1890 Hightstown home, McDonald and her family were no strangers to the upkeep of an aging home.

“The roof began to leak, the outside cellar doors had rotted, the foundation was cracking and the upstairs bathroom was suffering from the leaking roof,” explained McDonald.

The familiar challenge the McDonalds faced was “to be able to get things fixed without costing a fortune.”

McDonald’s experience typifies what other eligible residents can expect. The Hightstown Borough NHRF program administrator, Corinne Markulin of Community Grants & Planning, East Windsor, walked her through the process of applying for funding. Once approved, the program handled sending out requests for estimates from qualified and licensed trade contractors based on the type of work required. McDonald was able to choose the contractor that met her criteria and funding budget.

After repairs were completed, the pro

gram’s licensed inspectors ensured that the work was done properly. “I don’t see how you can ever go wrong by participating in this program,” McDonald said. “It’s a win-win situation.”

McDonald was pleased to report that the contractors that replaced her leaky roof and repaired her rotting bathroom wall were “...wonderful! They worked fast and left absolutely no mess to clean up! I don’t know why anyone would say no.”

A concise three-page handout, available through Hightstown Borough Hall or Community Grants & Planning, the administrators of the program outlines all the information homeowners need in order to determine their eligibility to participate in the program.

Residents should call 609-371-1937, ext. 17 for more information. Rinds are also available for rental units. Landlords should call the program administrator for additional information regarding the terms for rental units.

Licensed contractors interested in providing services for participants should contact Community Grants & Planning at 609-371-1968. Select qualified, licensed and insured contractors in electrical, plumbing, heating, construction and other trades are given an opportunity to preview and bid on projects throughout Hightstown.

Panter resolution to fund cleaner air passed by AssemblyThe General Assembly has

passed legislationAssemblyman Michael J. Panter co-sponsored to make significant improvements in the quality of New Jersey’s air.

This resolution, SCR- 113/ACR-228, would call for a change to the state Constitution to dedicate annually funds for air pollution controls. The measure would alter the current corporate business tax (CBT) revenue dedication

to fund diesel vehicle retrofits.Diesel exhaust is a gaseous

mixture containing more than 450 different components, including vapors and fine particles. More than 40 chemicals in diesel exhaust are considered toxic air contaminants. According to the American Lung Association, exposure to this mixture could result in cancer, exacerbation of asthma, and other health problems.

“Last year, fine particle pol

lution claimed more than 1,000 New Jersey fives and sent thousands of residents to the emergency room for respiratory and asthma-related ailments,” said Panter, D- Monmouth/Mercer. “Diesel vehicles are one of the most dangerous sources or air pollution in the state. Cleaning them up will bring a huge improvement in the quality of fife for all New Jerseyans. It is imperative that this state begin to take strides toward cleaning its air and ensuring its children can grow up in a safe and healthy environment.”

The resolution’s co-sponsor, Assemblyman John F. McKeon, D-Essex, noted that health hazards exist for citizens even as they walk down the street.

“Due to our own state’s lax air quality controls, and prevailing winds from the West blowing in Ohio’s smoke and smog, New Jersey’s air quality is suffering,” said McKeon. “We need to act now to tackle this problem, beginning with regulating the pollution within our own borders. It is unacceptable that air pollution has been

allowed to climbed to such levels that walking down the street has become a health hazard.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that New Jersey’s air violates health standards under the “Clean Air Act.” The EPA estimates that particulates, microscopic specks of dirt, dust and chemicals, are a problem in 13 of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

Currently, the state Constitution dedicates 4 percent of the annual CBT revenue for environmental purposes, including:

• Paying costs for the remediation of hazardous substance discharges;

• Providing funding for the upgrade, replacement and cleanup of underground storage tanks;

• Providing loans and grants for the remediation of hazardous substances; and

• Providing $2 million annually for an underground storage tank inspection program, and nonpoint source pollution programs and watershed planning

and monitoring.Of this amount, one-sixth is

dedicated to water programs, one-third for underground storage tanks and remediation of brownfields, and one-half for state-funded hazardous discharge cleanups.

Under the Panter-McKeon measure, the Constitution would alter that allocation formula by reducing hazardous site cleanup funding from 50 percent to 33 percent and using the additional 17 percent to provide grants for air pollution control equipment and diesel engine retrofits.

After January 1, 2016, any unexpended amounts dedicated for air pollution control would be returned to state funded hazardous site cleanup.

The amendment also was sponsored byAssemblymembers BonnieWatson Coleman, D-Mercer, and John Wisniewski, D- Middlesex.

The Assembly passed the measure 74 to 5. It was filed with the Office of the Secretary of State.

PUBLICATION NO. 244880

J itg l jfs tn ii i t t (H azefEstablished June 30, 1849

GEORGE P. DENNIS, Editor and Publisher, 1912-1955 PFC. GEORGE FOSTER DENNIS, Killed in Action,

September 11, 1944MAY S. DENNIS, Publisher, 1955-1965

W. PALMER DENNIS — KATHRYN S. DENNIS, Publishers

Entered as second class matter at Hightstown, New Jersey post office under the Act of Congress of March 3,1879. Published monthly.

SEPTEMBER 2005Postmaster: Send address changes to the Hightstown Gazette, P.O. Box 359, Hightstown, N.J. 08520.

Replace that spotted August lawn with a living butterfly meadow!

Lawn grasses are “cool-season” plants that look great in spring and fall, but are almost impossible to care for during summer heat. Lawn grasses cannot tolerate drought, heat or high humidity.

During mid-summer, grass blades and roots become stressed, succumbing to insects, fungi and dehydration.

Watering encourages the fungi, insects and crabgrass, which are specifically adapted to prosper during these “dog-days” of August.

Engaging the crabgrass, grubs, chinch bugs, mildews and molds, will cost a fortune in herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers and water.

Even when this chemical assault is successful, which is rare, walking on the lawn is not advisable for fear of breathing and absorbing these biocides. If a big thunderstorm hits, all those chemicals end up in the nearest stream, slowly poisoning the critters — exactly what warning labels tell us to avoid at all costs!

There is another option!

Michele ByersTHE STATE W E’RE IN

Convert a significant portion of your landscape to a warm season grass and wildflower butterfly meadow!

Choose the sunniest area of your yard, where grass is nearly impossible to maintain, and plan a perennial wildflower meadow. There are numerous native plant nurseries that sell hardy plugs of native, drought- tolerant grasses and wildflowers. Native seed mixes specially designed for dry, sunny soils are also available.

Be sure to use some of the most drought-tolerant, long-lived perennial species that attract

butterflies and birds, such as blazing star, black-eyed susan, butterfly milkweed, purple cone- flower, yellow coneflower, tall coreopsis, New York ironweed, New England Aster, fireworks goldenrod and little bluestem grass.

Be patient, as some species bloom in the first year, others take two or more years to come into their full form! Use native shrubs as a backdrop or border, such as viburnum, witch-hazel, winterberry and inkberry hollies, sweet pepperbush, Virginia sweetspire and oak-leaf hydrangea.

Of course, if you have deer, you’ll have to protect the woody shrubs.

While planning and ordering your plants, start to prepare your site. Don’t just abandon your lawn; it would take years for the “sod” of your lawn grasses and weeds to yield to wildflower species, and the result would likely be invasive alien weeds.

The first step is to rototill your lawn in mid-August, as if you were digging a new vegetable

garden. Wait two weeks, sprinkling the area if it doesn’t rain at all, to allow grass and weeds to resprout! Then rototill again around Labor Day, further killing resprouts and exhausting the weedy seed bank.

Wait another two weeks and a rain shower or two.

If grass and weeds persist, consider using an herbicide just once to reduce the weed and grass competition.

If the herbicide is needed, apply a light spray of vegetation killer around September 15.

Or, rototill a third time to avoid herbicides.

By early October you are ready for one last rototill regardless of your approach.

There should be almost no resprouts and the soil should be slightly uneven and well-tilled.

Now plant all the seeds and plugs that have been assembled from various catalogs and nurseries.

After planting, lightly rake the new meadow to get good seed/soil contact, being careful not to injure any grown plugs or

larger plants. Never fertilize the meadow as native wildflowers don’t need it, and fertilizer just encourages typical lawn weeds!

Cover the site with a fine layer of salt hay, which is free of weed seeds, to protect the site from excessive erosion during the winter. Then just sit back and watch the meadow develop!

There may be a real need to hit the meadow with a weed-wacker every second Thanksgiving or so, in order to keep trees and other woody plants from taking over the site.

But other than that, your work is done. From now on during August, enjoy goldfinches and butterflies while neighbors are emptying their wallets to the lawn care industry!

I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njcon- servation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

Michele Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

Leaders in community service to be honored by CASCThe Community Action Service Center,

Inc. will host its fifth annual Community Activist Awards Gala, a fundraising event set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Ramada Inn on Monmouth Street in East Windsor.

This year’s honorees include The Peddie School, recipient of Community Activist Award; Hightstown Borough Police Department, recipient of the Civic Activist Award; and McGraw-Hill Companies, recipient of the Corporate Activist Award. A special memorial will be dedicated to the late Dr. Harold “Skip" Cox, Jr.

“Our honorees have been chosen for

their commitment to improve the quality of life in our community, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements at this year’s gala,” said Lydia Santoni- Wiliiams, CASC executive director. “Skip Cox was a great friend to this agency and a treasure of our community.”

Last year’s honorees were Mathematica Policy Research, Corporate Activist Award; the East Windsor Township Police Department & PBA 191,Civic Activist Award; and Susan Brown, Community Activist Award.

“This has become a successful event through the generous support of the com

munity,” added Santoni-Williams, notingthat sponsorships, advertising space and tickets are available for purchase. Additionally, donations of gift items and services are being sought for the event’s popular silent auction.

Since 1967, CASC has been helping residents of eastern Mercer County build and maintain self sufficiency.

Through its program of Family Supportive Services, CASC offers direct assistance and community partnerships that address health and development, as well as basic needs such as food, shelter, and an affordable childcare option during

the summer months through an academic enrichment day camp program.

“With the help of the community, we provide people in crisis with a ‘hand up,’ rather than just a hand-out,” said Santoni-Williams.

Tax-deductible contributions to the Community Activist Awards fundraising gala are essential to CASC’s ability to continue serving its neighbors in need. Healthier people have healthier families; stronger families build a stronger community.

For tickets, donations or additional information, call CASC at 609-443-4464 or e-mail Events@CASCmercer.org.

InfoLine provides information to county residents on servicesHightstown and East Windsor resi

dents will now be better able to access the menu of services available to them through a new Web site spearheaded by the Mercer County Department of Human Services, County Executive Brian M. Hughes has announced.

The service, offered through the Info Line of Central Jersey, represents a public-private partnership between Mercer County government and the United Way of Greater Mercer County.

The web site, available at www.info- line.org, will provide information about a broad range of social, health, employment, financial, and educational services.

“Mercer County residents deserve one- stop shopping when searching for the

services available to them,” Hughes said. “This partnership will provide that link and enables us to reach our goal of providing more responsive and open service to county residents.”

Info Line has received a grant from the New Jersey District of Kiwanis International Foundation to support the initial year of service for the web site, and the County will provide ongoing funding going forward to ensure that every resident of Mercer County has access to information. Mercer County is providing $1,500 for the startup of the site and expects to contribute $3,500 in each ensuing year.

Info Line of Central Jersey is the only comprehensive, countywide information and referral service for all residents of

Middlesex County, Mercer County, and Franklin Township in Somerset County.

The county’s 211 service, administered by Info Line, provides consumers with a one-stop point of access to a toll-free telephone service, and by providing local access through on-site outreach sites

across the county.The county’s library system will make

the information available to patrons via their internal network, as well as through a link on their website. The website is supported by Sphere LLC and can be accessed directly at www.info-line.org.

Gazette thanks library and community for supportThe Gazette gratefully acknowledges the staff of the Hightstown Memorial Library

for providing us with access to the Internet through its wireless network for the publishing of the August and September issues of the newspaper. To paraphrase an old adage, we offer that it takes a village to raise a newspaper. That said, we also thank our Hightstown friends and neighbors for their well-wishes and support as the Gazette continues into the future.

mailto:info@njconservation.orghttp://www.njcon-servation.orghttp://www.njcon-servation.orgmailto:Events@CASCmercer.orghttp://www.info-line.orghttp://www.info-line.orghttp://www.info-line.org

Discovery of distant planet offers hopeBy ERIC QUINONES

The discovery of a new planet by astronomers from institutions worldwide, including Princeton University, offers greater hope that researchers can eventually find planets that are closer in distance and size to Earth.

The new planet is one of the most distant ever discovered, at roughly 15,000 light years from Earth, and is about three to five times the size of Jupiter. It is the second planet discovered in the last year through a method known as gravitational microlensing, which allows astronomers to detect changes in the brightness of a star if a planet passes before it.

While both planets found in the past year are estimated at a similar size ad distance, researchers believe the technique will lead to the discovery of smaller planets closer to Earth. Scientists are eager to study these Earth-like planets to understand their chemical makeup and to determine whether they might support some form of life.

“Gravitational microlensing is the only technology available today that may allow a detection of Earth-mass planets,” said Bohdan Paczynski, the Lyman Spitzer Professor of Theoretical Astrophyics at Princeton University and cofounder of the Optical Gravitational LensingExperiment (OGLE) with Andrzej Udalski of Warsaw University.

Paczynski noted that the two recent discoveries, as well as expected future findings by OGLE, will help inform the work of NASA as it tries to determine the probability of locating planets comparable in size to Earth around nearby stars. One of NASA’s main goals over the next decade is to obtain images of such planets through a program known as the Terrestrial Planet Finder, he said.

“Before they spend several billion dollars, they should know whether anything could be found,” Paczynski said. “In the best case, we should eventually be able to find several

planets as low-mass as Earth, but very far away. Statistically speaking, if there are others far away, there should also be nearby planets.”

Gravitational microlensing occurs when a massive object in space, such as a star or even a black hole, crosses in front of a star shining in the background. The object’s strong gravitational pull bends the light rays from the more distant star and magnifies them like a lens.

The newest planet discovery came after Udalski noticed in March that a star located thousands of light years from Earth was starting to move in front of another star that was even farther away, near the center of our galaxy. A month later, when the more distant star had brightened a hundred-fold, astronomers from OGLE and another group, the Microlensing Follow Up Network (MicroFUN), detected a rapid distortion of the brightening. The new pattern indicated that a planet was around the star in front.

Because the method allowed the scientists to monitor the light signal with near-perfect precision, it could easily have revealed, an even smaller planet, said Andrew Gould, professor of astronomy at Ohio State and leader of the MicroFUN collaboration.

“If an Earth-mass planet was in the same position, we would have been able to detect it,” Gould said.

The collaborators have submitted a paper announcing the planet to Astrophysieal Journal Letters and have posted the paper online. The researchers have secured the use of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to examine the star that the planet is orbiting.

OGLE finds more than 600 “microlensing events” per year using a telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile (operated by Carnegie Institution of Washington). MicroFUN is a collaboration of astronomers from the United States, Korea, New Zealand and Israel that picks out those events that are most likely to reveal planets and monitors

them from telescopes around the world.

Other institutions involved in the project include: theHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Universidad de Concepcion in Chile, University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, California Institute of Technology, American Museum of Natural History, Chungbuk National University in Korea, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Massy University in New Zealand, Nagoya University in Japan and the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

The OGLE collaboration is funded by the Polish Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology, the Foundation for Polish Science, the National Science Foundation and NASA. Some MicroFUN team members received funding from the National Science Foundation, Harvard College Observatory, Korea Science and Engineering Foundation and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.

Effort to enroll m ore children in insurance programsState Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-

Woodbridge) and New Jersey Human ServicesCommissioner James M. Davy joined members of the Covering Kids and Families coalition and New Jersey’s hospitals in West Windsor recently to launch a “Back-to-School Campaign” to add more children to the state’s health insurance rolls.

“Making sure children are ready for the new school year involves many different things: backpacks, pencils, new sneakers. It also involves making sure children are covered by

health insurance. A child can’t learn if she has a vision problem. Healthy children learn better. It’s as easy as that,” said Davy. “The Department of Human Services is grateful to have partners committed to the same noble purpose work of bettering a child’s life. And now signing up for NJ FamilyCare is as simple as ABC.”

The Back-to-School initiative includes a number of outreach events and enrollment fairs over six weeks at sites across the state with help from the New Jersey Hospital Association’s 112 members.

The goal is to increase enrollment in the NJ FamilyCare program, which offers free and reduced-cost health insurance to qualified children.

And beginning Sept. 1, the program will be expanded to eligible parents under new legislation sponsored by Sen. Vitale.

“Children have to first be healthy in order to succeed in school and everything else in their lives,” said Sen. Vitale. “Today, we want our message to be clear to every parent in New Jersey: Affordable healthcare is now available for all of your children.”

New Jersey is home to more than 223,000 uninsured children, and studies show that these kids could face more illnesses and classroom difficulties, such as increased absenteeism, than children with regular access to healthcare services. It’s estimated that as many as 170,000 of those children could qualify for NJ FamilyCare coverage.

Today’s event is part of a nationwide Covering Kids and Families effort coordinated by

the Princeton-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation works with coalitions in all 50 states to enroll more children in health insurance programs.

An estimated 8.5 million children in the United States are uninsured, yet most of them are eligible for free or low-cost coverage.

“Maintaining good health and a good education are essential for our young people’s growth and development,” said NJHA President Gary Carter. “Our hospitals will be partners this fall in spreading the word and helping enroll children at health fairs and other community events.”

Research from the American College of Physicians shows that uninsured children are 70 percent more likely to go without care for common childhood ailments such as sore throats and earaches than kids with insurance. These conditions are often the cause of students’ school absences.

In recent years, more than 100,000 children have signed up for NJ FamilyCare, but many

families may still not be aware that they could qualify, especially those with parents who work.

Children in a family of four earning about $68,000 a year may qualify for NJ FamilyCare.

Larger families with higher incomes may also be eligible for free or low-cost coverage. Sen. Vitale recently sponsored and helped pass legislation to expand the program’s eligibility and identify renewable funding sources, including additional federal funding, to make the program accessible to more New Jerseyans.

NJ FamilyCare offers comprehensive coverage similar to private health insurance programs. Covered services include doctor visits, prescriptions, X-rays, lab tests, hospitalizations, emergency medical care, mental health services, eyeglasses and basic dental services.

Families can call the toll-free number 1-800-701-0710 or log on to the Web site at http://www.njfamilycare.org to learn more about NJ FamilyCare.

Salute to the 70s is theme for third annual Hightstown community fairThe Third Annual Community Fair, “Celebrate Communities —

A Salute to the Seventies,” is set for Saturday, October 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Main Street, Hightstown. Rain date will be Sunday, October 9.

The event will include costume and dance contests, puppets and clowns for children, a Chili Cook-Off Civil War re-enactment, crafts, food, civic groups, musicians, and an auto display.

Call 609-443-6536 for more information.

http://www.njfamilycare.org

CURRENTS _ ' ■

Reimagining the debate on public transportationBy MICHELLE BRANTLEY

Special writer

To successfully address chronic transportation problems, citizens and policymakers need to reframe the way we think and talk about transportation, Anne Canby, president of the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), told approximately 35 people as part of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy’s Alan M. Voorhees Distinguished Speaker Series.

Canby, who directs research and advocacy efforts for the organization with the goal of improving the nation’s transportation system and previously served as Commissioner of NJDOT, described a lack of leadership at the federal level, with an overemphasis on highways to the detriment of public transit systems.

“Growing congestion, an unacceptable number of deaths and injuries in accidents, disinvestments in communities, almost no travel options, and a high cost for the public sector and families” all characterize a transportation system that is currently “hurting,” Canby said.

For eveiy dollar the federal government has invested in highways, only 2.5 cents have gone into public transportation during the last two and a half years, Canby emphasized.

“People are being pushed out of transportation because of the price of gas, and we’re giving them nowhere to go.” Yet at the same time, “the U.S. Transportation Secretary is going around the country trashing Amtrak and begging for it to be destroyed.”

“We never honestly invested in it to begin with,” Canby said.

In contrast with an ineffective federal government, New Jersey policymakers are recognizing the market for development around public transit, Canby said. She praised the NJDOT for linking the transportation decision-making process with the land use decision-making process and for instituting planning grants that encourage community partnerships on transportation issues.

“The New Jersey Commissioner is so far out in front of where most DOT heads are in the U.S.,” Canby said.

Crucial changes that need to take

"We shouldn't talk so much about congestion because it leads to the wrong answer. We need to find new

frames and have a good set of indicators we pound out there. When we frame the issues

(differently), people think of transportation in a different way."

ANNE CANBYPresident, Surface Transportation Policy Project

gweMwaw*' w rtH Tim n -vir-'"- t.- J*,', , vplace are a linkage of transportation and land use planning and a mentality that focuses on planning rather than on individual projects, she said.

In the past, there has been little focus on the “interdisciplinary nature” of transportation planning, with little interaction among the housing, health, education, and transportation communities, Canby noted. There have also been insufficient efforts by members of the transportation community to reach out to the individual communities their decisions impact.

Canby described the “D.C. mentality,” which she views as insufficient, as focusing on giving citizens “reasonable opportunity to comment” on projects. “This doesn’t translate into collaboration. We need early engagement. We need to go out and listen to people’s concerns and work together for an answer that addresses a much broader array of needs.”

Focusing on individual projects rather than on an overarching vision diminishes planning efforts, she added.

To promote an interdisciplinary approach, members of the transportation community need to frame issues in ways that draw in other communities, Canby emphasized. This could involve focusing on the impact of increasing gasoline prices and the increasing incidence of asthma and obesity.

“Transportation is a contributory factor to obesity. We have designed physical activity out of our lives.” Walking is currently the most dangerous form of transportation in the country, she noted.

Emphasizing the connection between transportation and health issues could

also be focused around health care costs. For example, an important question to ask is what the effect on health care costs would be if, through sound transportation policy, we could reduce the incidence of asthma.

The transportation community has talked about safety for years, yet has almost nothing to show for it, Canby said, noting that nearly 800 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in 2003, the most recent year for which data are available.

Environmental issues and global warming are other factors rarely addressed by the transportation community, Canby said.

“We shouldn’t talk so much about congestion because it leads to the wrong answer. We need to find new frames and have a good set of indicators we pound out there. When we frame the issues (differently), people think of transportation in a different way.”

Congress received the most criticism from Canby because of its focus on privatization, limitations on the structure of federal programs, and “total aversion to new revenue.”

Private companies are brought into the transportation planning process “to get the public out of the way,” Canby said, citing the Trans Texas Corridor proposal as an example.

Core federal programs that have a large degree of flexibility are being replaced with “narrowly defined new programs that take away flexibility,” Canby noted.

In many cases, the federal government funds projects at five to ten percent of their total costs, resulting in

states feeling obligated to provide the remainder of needed funding by taking money from core programs, she added.

Several factors could force necessary changes in how we view transportation, including the price of oil, frustration with congestion, lack of affordable housing, immigration, and an aging population, Canby said.

“All these are out there, but are not pulled into a forceful story that gets people thinking about transportation.”

Especially important is “the need to get our existing assets into a state of good repair,” Canby emphasized. “We need to take care of what we have. That will attract private capital. We need to create a stable and reliable stream of funding and revisit it on a periodic basis.”

Building partnerships between the public and private sectors is crucial, she said. “If we go too far on the private side, we risk marginalizing the planning process and cutting out shareholders.”

Canby urged bringing the revenues currently managed by toll authorities into the public realm through the creation of a transportation trust fund.

She also suggested strengthening local road networks to avoid having everyone on the state roads. Currently, “everything feeds into the state highway, making it a mess.”

Progress in transportation reform can be measured by establishing specific goals and tracking them, Canby emphasized. “We need to measure and be very visible of what we measure. For example, what percentage of our jobs are within a half hour of transit?”

A desirable goal is to require that a certain percentage of housing and jobs be within walking distance of a good transit system, she said.

Strong leadership, ways to tell a different transportation story, new partnerships and alliances, and setting clear goals will lead to “a transportation system that has profound benefits for our communities,” Canby emphasized.

To promote this goal, STPP is working with more than 500 organizations with vastly different backgrounds. “The diversity of people who join with us on these issues is one of our great strengths,” Canby said.

Mercer County receives Green Acres funding for open space purchasesMercer County Executive

Brian M. Hughes announced recently that the State of New Jersey has approved $1 million in Green Acres funds for open space acquisitions.

“I applaud the State, Acting Governor Richard Codey, and the Legislature for their contin

uing commitment to protecting open space,” Hughes said. “My administration has made these types of acquisitions a priority since day one, and we look forward to using these funds to continue this important public good.”

The award, detailed in a let

ter from Department of Environmental ProtectionCommissioner BradleyCampbell, will help defer the costs of significant open space acquisitions such as the Braghelli property in Hamilton Township.

The county is reimbursed for

projects at 50 percent of the certified fair market value.

Through the use of bonds and grants, the County has already leveraged the $30 million collected over 13 years to purchase land worth $190 million. The county’s tax has directly saved 12,995 acres

from development. Today, Mercer County boasts 26,274 acres of preserved open space and farmland.

Last year, Hughes called for a ballot question asking Mercer County voters whether they wanted to add another penny to the county’s open space tax.

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Codey signs order to help preserve

Revolutionary War sitesActing Governor Richard J. Codey

signed an executive order that will help preserve hundreds of historic Revolutionary War sites across New Jersey and enable the state to better educate future generations about the nation’s heritage.

“New Jersey played a critical role in the American Revolution,” Codey said. “Nowhere in the 13 colonies was the cost to civilian population greater; nowhere was the suffering of the troops greater; nowhere was the price of liberty more dear than in New Jersey.

“We must preserve our Revolutionary War sites,” Codey continued, “so we can continue to teach our citizens about one of the most important chapters in our nation’s history.”

The order declares New Jersey as a Crossroads of the American Revolution and designates a Crossroads of the American Revolution State Heritage Area. The area encompasses 213 municipalities and all or portions of 14 counties in central New Jersey, with branches to the north and south connecting the area to New York and Pennsylvania. The following counties are included in the state heritage area: Bergen, Camden, Hudson, Hunterdon, Passaic, Morris, Essex, Union, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth, Mercer, Burlington, and Gloucester.

The designation is expected to assist in the passage of a measure pending in the House of Representatives that would establish a National Heritage Area in New Jersey. That measure is sponsored by Congressmen Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-ll) and Rush Holt (D-12). It is identical to legislation sponsored by U.S. Sens. Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), which passed the Senate last month.

Corzine said Codey’s executive order brings critical attention to the important and historic role New Jersey played during the American Revolution.

“The executive order furthers our efforts in the Congress to establish National Heritage Areas in the state to help preserve our Revolutionary War sites,” Corzine said. “The battles that took place in New Jersey during the American Revolution shaped our nation’s history. We must protect the places that commemorate those patriots who fought and died to establish a

country that values freedom and individual rights.”

There are nearly 300 sites in New Jersey with direct ties to the American Revolution, including battlefields and historic headquarters. Among the landmarks are Washington’s Crossing, the Old Trenton Barracks, and the Princeton, Monmouth and Red Bank battlefields. On the federal level, designating a Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area would authorize $10 million in funding to assist preservation, recreational, and educational efforts by state, county, and local governments, and private cultural and tourism groups.

Frelinghuysen said he is hopeful the House will consider the legislation in the near future.

“With more Revolutionary War battles fought in New Jersey than in any other state, it is only right that our state receives the recognition it deserves,” Frelinghuysen said. “A National Heritage Area will raise the profile of New Jersey’s historical importance, boost efforts to preserve more open space, and in time, enhance our state’s tourism industry as more people visit New Jersey to re-live our nation’s struggle for freedom.”

National Heritage Areas create significant economic opportunities, increasing regional tourism by highlighting historic sites and cultural events. The Crossroads of the American Revolution project will have a significant impact across New Jersey.

“An important part of New Jersey's future is its past,” Holt said. “By providing this historic theme, Governor Codey helps bring together the goals of education, historic preservation, land preservation, and tourism to lead to a vibrant future for the region.”

Cate Litvack, executive director of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association said Codey’s executive order will help this and future generations protect and appreciate the natural cultural and historic resources of New Jersey’s significant Revolution War heritage.

“The designation of a Crossroads of the American Revolution State Heritage Area is historic,” Litvack said. “It gives us a cohesive framework for telling the important, interrelated stories of how New Jersey and its citizens contributed to the birth of our nation.”

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