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com

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DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015

Looking back on the happenings of Princeton

The Sun

s Princeton takes that final step into

2015, here is a look back at just some of
the happenings and changes that came
to the area throughout 2014.

Despite opposition, Dinky Station

transitions to a new station Nov. 17

Just before Princeton rolled into the 2014 calendar

year, the Regional Planning Board approved the $300
million Arts and Transit project proposed by Princeton University with a 9-1 vote. Throughout 2014, this
project garnered the attention of many Princetonians, with a hefty amount of opposition to moving
the Dinky Station.
The Save the Dinky group, an organization of
Princeton citizens who vehemently opposed Princeton Universitys plans to move the train and station,
actively protested the project.
On Jan. 26, the intersection at Alexander Street

and University place reopened as did the traffic circle beside the temporary Wawa. The roundabout
was opened after the bulk of roadwork for the Arts
and Transit project was complete. The next step was
preparing the construction of a new Wawa and new
Dinky Train Station.
On March 18, a three-judge panel in the Appellate
Division of New Jersey Superior Court issued a ruling upholding an approval to abandon the station to
facilitate the universitys construction. The removal
of the tracks required the approval of the state Historic Sites Council, which was under the DEPs jurisdiction.
The DEP rejected Save the Dinkys request for a
stay of approval, so the citizens group, along with
resident Anne Neumann, brought its appeal to Superior Court. According to court documents, the appeal was brought with arguments on several fronts,
including that the DEP failed to follow the regulations governing the review of the encroachment applease see DINKY, page 2

CLOCKWISE, FROM BOTTOM LEFT: Will Fox and son Benjamin, 1, enjoy a taste of
homemade salsa at Princeton Public Librarys Salsa Slam on July 30. Members of
the Princeton Police Department grill hot dogs on a hot August evening at Community
Night Out. The Princeton High School graduating class of 2014 cheers after classmate
Robert von der Schmidt gave an impassioned senior address at the June 25 ceremony. PREA members demonstrate outside in Princeton to garner attention to their
cause. The 2014 Special Olympics USA Games were hosted by New Jersey from June
14 to 20 throughout the Princeton area. Architect power duo Bob and Barbara Hillier
spend time at their office prospecting the various solutions that may work to preserve

Witherpsoons cultural identity. Charlie Liu and his younger brother, William, pose
together at Charlies solo benefit concert on Sunday, Aug. 17. A Princeton High School
cheerleader pumps up the crowd at the schools first Friday Night Lights Homecoming
football game in September. Princeton University employee and medicinal marijuana
user Donald DeZarn stands in front of the universitys public safety center in protest to
being forced to be on paid leave pending he ceases the use of medicinal marijuana.
Julie Johnson and children, Anders, 6, and Lucia, 3, examine vegetables at the
Princeton Farmers Market on July 17. Fuka Wada, 5, learns how to blow bubbles with
her own two hands at the Princeton Public Librarys Lets Play event.

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Dinky Station opens its

new location on Nov. 17
DINKY
Continued from page 1

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plication, and ignored federal

law reserving exclusive jurisdiction over railway transportation
applications to federal agencies.
The judges opinion was heavily
in favor of the DEPs original decision, upholding both the state
agencys approval and the process
by which the approval was given.
The Surface Transportation
Board decided on July 24 that NJ
Transit did not require its approval to remove about 460 feet of
the Dinky track to make way for a
portion of Princeton Universitys
Arts and Transit project. The decision came in response to a petition filed on June 24, 2013, by The
New Jersey and National Associations of Railroad Passengers.

The petition asked the U.S. board

to rule on the move of the Dinky
station under the claim that the
project should be presented to the
board for approval.
By Nov. 10, Kristin Appelget,
Princeton Universitys director of
community and regional affairs,
announced that the Arts and
Transit Project had reached a
major milestone. In the weeks
prior to her November speech to
council, Appelget described the
Dinky station as a beehive of activity, and said officials hurried
to finish construction of the
Dinky Station and Wawa.
The long-awaited and heavily
debated new location opened its
doors on Nov. 17 with the first
train around 4:50 a.m. The 24hour Wawa opened in its new location on Nov. 21. Also as of Nov.
17, vehicles were able to access
the Transit Plaza and the com-

muter parking lot. The new traffic light began blinking on Nov. 10
and went live Nov. 13. Tiger Transit, the freeB and NJ Transit
began stopping right in front of
the new location the week of Nov.
10 and the Tiger Paw ceased to operate once the Dinky was back in
its original location. Nearly 100
bike racks also became available
by Nov. 10 as part of the universitys bike share/rental program.
With more construction still to
come including the Momo
brothers caf and restaurant at
the old Dinky Station the $300
million project still aims to wrap
up by 2017. The completion of the
new station and Wawa was celebrated with a ribbon cutting on
Nov. 25. The ceremony was presented by Princeton University
Vice President and Secretary
please see WITHERSPOON, page 4

4 THE PRINCETON SUN DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015

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Robert K. Durkee, P.U. President

Christopher L. Eisgruber, Jamie
Fox, commissioner of the state
Department of Transportation
and NJ TRANSIT board chairman, NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Ronnie Hakim and Mayor
Liz Lempert.
Lempert closed the ceremony
with some upbeat words that
summed up the mass attention,
both proactive and oppositional,
to the Arts and Transit Project
over the last year: Albert Einstein rode the Dinky, F. Scott

Fitzgerald wrote about the Dinky

in This Side of Paradise and it
was featured in a Bing Crosby
movie referring to the 1934 film
She Loves Me Not. It may not be
a long commute, Lempert said,
but it is part of Princetons identity. We love our Dinky.

Council continues to consider

envisioning a new
Witherspoon Street Corridor
The Witherspoon Corridor is
an eclectic street in Princeton
with a rich history and a divided
past. Since Princeton Township
and Borough merged, the future
of Witherspoon was finally discussed as one. At a council meeting, Sept. 22, members of the

community, the planning board

and the council opened the first of
what Lempert called a series of
dialogues to create a unified vision for the beloved area.
At the Sept. 22 meeting, topics
such as avoiding over-density,
changing the diverse and sometimes inconvenient zoning policies, maintaining the villagelike character, hiring a professional urban planner, and preserving the historic and racial
value of the neighborhood were
all discussed at length. By its end,
Lempert concluded that Lee
Solow, director of the planning
board, would return with a capacity analysis for current zoning beplease see ARCHITECT, page 5

DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015 THE PRINCETON SUN 5

Wilson-Apple Funeral Home

Architect Hillier expresses

respect for Witherspoon area
ARCHITECT
Continued from page 4
fore the council moved forward.
In the meantime, voices of
Witherspoon Street spoke in regard to how they felt the street
should change or remain the
same.
Kevin Galeano, a 13-year-old
Witherspoon Street native, said
happily and with the authenticity
of a young boy, I dont want to
change anything about Witherspoon. I like it here.
Raul Calvimontes, a 19-year
Princetonian and 15-year coowner of Pams Global Services
Inc. on Witherspoon, said, The
pending decisions to change
Witherspoon could have the potential to also change our lives or
push us out referring to himself and the essentially minority
Hispanic and black community of
the corridor. Keeping it completely as is, Calvimontes explained, will continue the habit
of buildings not being kept up because, honestly, some might think
why should I keep it up? if they
know who is living inside.
Calvimontes hoped that the vision would include a solution that
might fix some of the old or dilapidated properties, rather than de-

stroying the community to start

from scratch.
Several individuals around
Witherspoon, including Calvimontes, expressed worry that the
66-year local Bob Hillier, a wellknown architect with many properties along the corridor, would
turn the neighborhood into an architecturally beautiful area, but
an area that current residents
and affordable housing dwellers
would be unable to afford.
Hillier and his wife/business
partner Barbara also expressed
their respect for the neighborhood and its past in an Oct. 1 in-

terview. Bob said he was interested in finding solutions that fuse

the ideal with the real.
I took an interest in this
neighborhood, Barbara said, a
sort of personal investment. I
would love it if wed be able to
share our points of view to people
show our genuine commitment
to wanting what is best for the
town and the neighborhood.
The next council meeting
where the corridor was discussed
the last of the year was on Nov.
24. Solow returned with his exten-

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in our opinion

Lets resolve to give back in 2015

145 Witherspoon Street

Princeton, NJ 08542
609-751-0245

For the New Year, we could all give some of our time to lend a helping hand
Dan McDonough Jr.

ost of us are lucky enough to

spend the holidays with our
loved ones. Most of us are
lucky enough to be able to give and receive presents, to put a home-cooked
meal on the table and to sit back, relax
and enjoy whats important in life.
There are many, though, living right
here in our state of New Jersey, who
are not as lucky as we are. And these
are the people who need our help the
most.
So as we are about to put 2014 behind
us and enter a New Year, lets all resolve to give back more in 2015.
We like to think of ourselves as giving people, but compared to the rest of
the country, thats just not the case. A
study released last week by the Corporation for National and Community

Share your thoughts

Do you volunteer, or do you plan to volunteer in the New Year? Share your
thoughts on this, and other topics,
through a letter to the editor.

Service and the National Conference

on Citizenship found that 22.4 percent
of New Jersey residents volunteered
their time in 2013.
That ranked us near the bottom,
45th, in the nation. Utah topped the list
at 44.6 percent.
The study found that 1.45 million
residents volunteered a total of more
than 206 million hours of service. The
stats counted only non-paid work as
volunteering.

Millennials in our state ranked even

lower, at 49th overall, with only 17.3
percent of the age group volunteering
in 2013.
The good news is that it doesnt take
much to change this trend. Volunteering doesnt have to take up all of ones
free time, and it doesnt have to include
big monetary donations. Volunteering
can be as simple as pitching in at a
soup kitchen, coaching a Little League
team or collecting trash at a public
park.
With volunteering, doing a little can
go a long way. What may seem as not
much to most of us can have a huge
impact to someone else.
So while youre compiling your list
of To Dos for 2015, add giving back to
the community by volunteering.

PREA, BOE continue contract negotiations

PREA
Continued from page 5
sive zoning report that might prompt a revisioning of lot sized, form-based code and
change to zoning laws. He suggested prioritizing ideas, including reaching out to outside resources, such as someone to conduct
a historic study of the area to label and
preserve Witherspoon as a historic district.
Right now we face a mixed bag of what
we want business, residential or mixed
use. We need more from the community to
see who wants what, Solow said.
Council President Bernie Miller said he
would like to hear more before undertaking a visioning study and drawing major
conclusions.
Ive heard comments from the Wither-

spoon-Jackson Neighborhood meeting,

from community members, and still see
other residents that have not been able to
contribute their thoughts, Miller said.
Lempert suggested continuing the dialogue to determine if the community
wants to conduct a historic study, and do it
in a more informal setting where council is
not sitting in the sky. A meeting will be
announced sometime in January.

PREA and Board of Education remain

at a stalemate in contract negotiations
As of July 1, contracts between the
Princeton Regional Education Association
and the Board of Education expired. The
board and PREA negotiations teams met
on June 30 for approximately four and-ahalf hours, and the two sides remained
mostly at a stalemate.
Superintendent Steven Cochrane called

the June 30 meeting productive and said

the two sides would continue with the
hope of reaching agreement before the
start of the school year.
John Baxter, Princeton High School history teacher and PREA negotiations chair,
said the PREA felt there was very little
significant progress and no progress whatsoever on the main topics of health care
and salary. However, the two groups were
able to come to agreement on contract language for the prorated number of sick and
personal days for new hires that begin employment after the start of the school year
and for the use of accumulated unused personal days.
With no contract agreement made on the
main issues salary and health benefits a
third-party mediator was brought in to the
meeting on July 22 to help facilitate negotiplease see AVALONBAY, page 7

chaIrman of elauwIt medIa

Tim Ronaldson

Joe Eisele

executIve edItor

InterIm publIsher

managIng edItor

Mary L. Serkalow
content edItor Kristen Dowd
prInceton edItors Nora Carnevale
prInceton edItors Erica Chayes
art dIrector Stephanie Lippincott

chaIrman of the board

Russell Cann
Barry Rubens
Michael LaCount, Ph.D.

chIef executIve offIcer

vIce chaIrman

elauwIt medIa group

publIsher emerItus
edItor emerItus

Steve Miller
Alan Bauer

The Sun is published weekly by Elauwit

Media LLC, 145 Witherspoon Street,
Princeton, NJ 08542. It is mailed weekly to
select addresses in the 08542 and 08540 ZIP
codes.
If you are not on the mailing list, six-month
subscriptions are available for $39.99. PDFs
of the publication are online, free of charge.
For information, please call 609-751-0245.
To submit a news release, please email
news@theprincetonsun.com. For advertising information, call (609) 751-0245 or
email advertising@theprincetonsun.com.
The Sun welcomes comments from readers
including any information about errors that
may call for a correction to be printed.
SPEAK UP
The Sun welcomes letters from readers.
Brief and to the point is best, so we look for
letters that are 300 words or fewer. Include
your name, address and phone number. We
do not print anonymous letters. Send letters
to news@theprincetonsun.com, via fax at
609-751-0245, or via the mail. Of course,
you can drop them off at our office, too.
The Princeton Sun reserves the right to
reprint your letter in any medium including electronically.

DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015 THE PRINCETON SUN 7

%
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AvalonBay lawsuit settles

AVALONBAY
Continued from page 6

ations.
In June, the school board said
it had offered 1.8 percent raises in
the first and second years of a
contract and 1.86 percent in the
third. In Princeton, the average
teacher salary is $78,351. The district stood by its requirement to
stay beneath a 2 percent statemandated budget cap. The teachers union, calling themselves A
Sea of Blue on Facebook, posted
on July 30, "While there is no dispute that the average teacher in
Princeton is well paid, that average must be placed in the proper
context.
By the start of the school year,
the two sides remained at an impasse and PREA members started
work without a new contract.
In a letter to the editor sent to
The Sun in September, PREA
said, we are concerned by the
distrust and apprehension fostered by the current contract negotiation. We believe that the
boards proposed contract is not
an accurate reflection of our resi-

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dents, taxpayers and parents

values.
On Nov. 13, Baxter and PREA
President Joanne Ryan, a second=grade teacher at Littlebrook
Elementary School, sent a letter
to parents informing them of
PREAs next move.
PREA members will no longer
perform or participate in activities, including their planning, for
which we are not compensated
and that extend beyond the school
day. We will continue to write letters of recommendation, Ryan
said.
The official withdrawal from
afterschool activities commenced
on Dec. 1.
Cochrane said that administration, PHS Principal Schneider
and local parents volunteered
their time to make the teachers
absence less drastic on students.
Cohcrane continues to go to every
session hopeful that the two sides
will find common ground. Yet, by
mid-December, no serious settlements were made.

After the last meeting in December, which lasted for more

than six hours, Baxter announced, Some progress was
made by the end of the night but
we remain far from an agreement
on salary, benefit, and premium
contributions.
We will meet
again with the mediator on Jan.
14.

AvalonBay lawsuit reaches

settlement agreement
Since 2013, the dispute between
the town and AvalonBay was a
major topic of conversation
throughout Princeton. What resident Paul Driscoll referred to as
the biggest demolition in Princetons history, which involves
the safety and welfare of our citizens, the case spawned major debates until its conclusion in August.
Back in May, Developer AvalonBay sued the town over environplease see COUNCIL, page 9

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CALENDAR

PAGE 8

WEDNESDAY DEC. 31
New Years Eve at Princeton Yoga:
Princeton center for Yoga and
Health, 9 p.m. 12 a.m. Come join
the Princeton Yoga community
this New Year's Eve to journey
into your heart through immersion in sacred sound. The evening
begins with a guided meditation
to let go of the old, then lay down
for a journey into the vibrations
of the gongs, Native American
flutes, Himalayan singing bowls,
percussion and other world
instruments. Afterward there will
be a sharing of conversation,
food and joy! Please bring a pot
luck vegetarian appetizer or
dessert to share. $55 to register.
Email
princetonyoga@mindspring.com for more information.

THURSDAY JAN. 1
Friends of Princeton Nursery
Lands 1st Day Hike: D&R Canal
State Park Headquarters, 145
Mapleton Road, Kingston; 11 a.m.
Start the New Year off with an
easy 1.5 mile loop hike through

the Mapleton Preserve, into the

fields on the other side of Mapleton Road, along the D&R Canal
and back to the Preserve. This
walk sponsored by Friends of
Princeton Nursery Lands starts
at the Mapleton Preserve/D&R
Canal State Park Headquarters.
Dress for the weather. Free, and
all are welcome. Call (609) 6830483 for more information.

FRIDAY JAN. 2
Men in Retirement Meeting:
Suzanne Patterson Building, 2
p.m. Come and meet other men
who are making or have made
the transition into retirement. For
information call (609) 924-7108.
Men in Retirement is a Next
Step program of the Princeton
Senior Resource Center.

SATURDAY JAN. 3
Real-time Tour of the Battle of
Princeton: Princeton Battlefield
State Park, 7 9 a.m. A tour of
the Battle of Princeton as it progressed in real time. Meets at the
Clarke House. This year will mark

the battles 238th anniversary.

Cover to Cover Book Group (C2C):
Princeton Public Library Conference Room, 11 a.m. This reading
group for fourth- and fifthgraders meets the first Saturday
of every month to discuss books,
short stories and other interests.
Activities include group reads,
writing short book reviews and
learning to post booklists in Bibliocommons. Registration is not
required.

SUNDAY JAN. 4

DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015

WANT TO BE LISTED?
To have your meeting or affair listed in the Calendar or Meetings,
information must be received, in writing, two weeks prior to the
date of the event.
Send information by mail to: Calendar, The Sun, 1330 Route 206,
Suite 211, Skillman, NJ 08558. Or by email: news@theprinceton
sun.com. Or you can submit a calendar listing through our website
(www.theprincetonsun.com).

Graves Full by Jamie Mason.

Sunday Stories: Princeton Public

Library Story Room, 3:30 4 p.m.
Stories, songs, and rhymes for
children 2-8 years old and their
families. Adults must accompany
children.

MONDAY JAN. 5
Continuing Conversations on Race:
Princeton Public Library Conference Room, 7 p.m. Members of
Not In Our Town, the Princetonbased interracial and interfaith
social action group, facilitate
these discussions of race-related
issues of relevance to our community and nation.
Mystery Book Group: Princeton
Public Library Quiet Room, 7:30
p.m. Librarian Gayle Stratton
leads a discussion of Three

TUESDAY JAN. 6
Chess: Princeton Public Library Story Room, 4 p.m. Children can
learn to play and practice chess
at these weekly drop-in sessions
led by Princeton High School
Chess members David Hua,
Amnon Attali and Alice Dong.
Exhibit: Princeton Public Library, all
day; through March. Two artists
with a local connection, Armando
Sosa and Hugo Navarro, exhibit
their work on the librarys second
floor. Sosas work includes brilliantly colored, hand-woven tapestries and other textiles. In his
work, Sosa employs symbols and
images derived from dreams and
memories of traditional icons and
figures, both religious and secular some dating back to his

native Mayan or pre-Columbian

heritage, others to actual memories of a Central American childhood. Additional visual influences
incorporated into his designs
include African textiles, European
Jacquard patterns and Renaissance tapestry details.
Writers Room: Princeton Public
Library Princeton Room, 7 p.m.
Writers can receive constructive
feedback at these sessions, during which participants read their
work and members offer suggestions. Works read are usually less
than 15 minutes long, so there is
time to discuss a number of
pieces during each session. While
nonfiction has been a focus in the
past, fiction writers are welcome.
Participants range from published authors to those looking to
improve their skills. Group meets
the first and third Tuesday of
each month.
Princeton Folk Dance Pop-Up Studio: Princeton Shopping Center,
7:30 9:30 p.m. Ethnic dances of
many countries using original
music. Beginners welcome. Lesson followed by dance. No partner needed. $5.

Or Shortly
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DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015 THE PRINCETON SUN 9

Council approves new agreement by 5-0 vote

COUNCIL
Continued from page 6

mental testing the governing

body had required at the old Witherspoon hospital site. AvalonBay
requested that the court reverse
Princeton Councils decision to
make certain environmental tests
a condition of the developers
agreement. The agreement itself
was a condition of the Planning
Board approval AvalonBay received in July 2013 to build a 280unit housing complex on the site.
Until both parties accepted the
developers agreement, AvalonBay could not receive permits to
begin demolition or construction
on the site.
Prior to the lawsuit against
Princeton the third regarding
development in less than a year
council included environmental
testing in the April developers
agreement. Testing was recommended by Dr. Ira Whitman, a licensed site remediation professional hired by the town to assess
potential environmental contaminants or issues at the site. In his
report, Whitman recommended
testing associated with hazardous
waste migration from a medical
waste incinerator, which could include airborne emissions, deposition of waste contaminants beneath the incinerator, water conveyance of incinerator-related

waste from drains and piping,

and deposition of ash or residual
material from the incinerator.
Whitman recommended that
these samplings be tested for cadmium, mercury, dioxins, furans
and lead.
In its suit, AvalonBay claimed
that Whitman had imagined the
need for testing and, according to
Princeton municipal attorney Trishka W. Cecil, said the town had
exceeded its authority.
On July 22, a Superior Court
judge ordered AvalonBay and the
town to seek help from a mediator
in resolving their dispute. The
two sides remained at odds over
the development of the former
Princeton Hospital site downtown with AvalonBay unable to
commence construction.
Jack West, Princetons land use
engineer, explained that the contractor that had been working at
the hospital site, Yanuzzi Corporation, would continue to remove
asbestos until the middle of August.
Once the litigation is resolved
and they start demoing the building, we are not anticipating any
big issues. Any time youre doing
demo work in close proximity to
residents, youre concerned with
dust and contaminants, that sort

of thing, but so far the company

has been very good to work with
and very professional, West said
in July.
By Aug. 18, under court pressure, Princeton Council voted to
approve an agreement with AvalonBay and moved to end the long
and at times dramatic saga between the town and the developers. The agreement amended the
amount of environmental testing
that could be conducted at the former hospital site on Witherspoon
Street.
The new agreement was approved by a 5-0 vote. Lempert and
Councilwoman Heather Howard
were not in attendance at the
meeting, but Miller said they participated in the closed session
that preceded the open meeting
and fully supported the agreement.
Counsel urged the still-hesitant
voting body to support the agreement because of a motion by
AvalonBay for judgment made by
Sept. 6. If officials did not approve
the revised agreement, Cecil explained that there was a strong
possibility of the town getting
nothing from the decision. Both
she and environmental lawyer
Neil Yoskin, who also represents
the town, agreed that AvalonBay

would win in court and then the

town would be left with only the
state minimum in regard to testing.
The new agreement called for
the top four inches of soil on the
hospital site to be scraped off and
separated, then only used below
asphalt. In the spaces that public
parks and gardens were to be created, an additional eight inches of
soil was required to be scraped
off, totaling 12. Clean fill soil was
ordered to replace the first foot.

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Soil samples were agreed be

taken and tested for 13 different
metals from the area that connects the floor drains to a hospital
incinerator. A TV camera was to
be placed down the pipes to check
for cracks and breaks, which, if
found, would also be tested for
contamination.
All officials emphatically explained that all soil would be
closely analyzed during the demo-

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10 THE PRINCETON SUN DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015

Three new heads of schools

begin in Princeton in 2014
THREE

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lition process. Any suspicious

material such as ash residue
would be tested. Air monitors
were to constantly test for particulates at the site as well, and if
any are detected, an alarm would
sound so all work stops, explained Robert Kiser, head of the
towns engineering department.
Since the purpose of the testing the town tried to impose on
the developer was to identify
risks to the public, Councilman
Patrick Simon said he believed
the agreement ultimately reached
the towns goal.
Foremost in our minds was
the protection of the health and
welfare of present and future residents of Princeton, Miller said.

@39n_princeton

2014 welcomes three new heads

of school in Princeton
Email us at news@theprincetonsun.com
The 2014 school year has been
eventful for the private sector of

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Princeton education. Princeton

Montessori, Chapin School, and
Princeton Day School all appointed new heads of school to take
reign over administrative duties.
A 24-year Montessori teacher
for elementary and middle
school, administrator, middle
school director and teacher of
teachers, Michelle Morrison was
well suited to accept her career
advancement at the start of summer. In an August interview with
The Sun, Morrison discussed her
philosophical approach to an administrative
model
through
Montessori teachings.
In her new position as Princeton Montessoris head of school,
Morrison plays a key role in the
administrative and business side
of school affairs. There is some
debate, Morrison said, that the
head of school should have a business background instead of a
teaching one. Morrison, however,
whose complete adoration for her
workplace shines from her light
eyes, felt the next generations of
Montessori business leaders
should come from a Montessori
background.

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Morrison explained that her

dream as head of school was to
challenge adults teachers, administrators and even parents
to adapt the Montessori way in
acting. She said how adults
should be able to resolve conflict
the ways so many of her students
do: with compassion, strength
and reflection. Once she began as
official head of school in the new
school year, Morrison said she
would make it her priority to ensure that every individual in
every walk of business, administrative and educational relations
shared this kind of enthusiasm.
At the beginning of December,
Chapin School named prominent
educator Pamela Fiander, Ed.D.,
as its new head of school. After
conducting an extensive national
search, the 83-year-old independent school serving 275 students
from pre-k through grade eight
settled on a candidate.
Fiander, of Basking Ridge, will
succeed Chapins current headmaster, Richard Johnson, who
will be retiring at the end of the
school year after 16 years at
Chapin.
Fiander said in a press release
how she was "deeply honored and
grateful" to join Chapin School.
"Chapin is a small school where
relationships are paramount. I,
too, live by that belief, and will
work tirelessly to build strong relationships with our students,
staff, parents and the greater
community in supporting the
mission and future of our
school."
Fianders educational philosophy centers on the use of research-based
teaching
techniques, combined with listening
to students and understanding
how each child learns.
"Students need to be heard;
they need to know they matter, in
order for learning to flourish,"
she explained.
A board member of the New
Jersey Association of Independent Schools, Fiander has served
as an accreditation team co-chair
please see PRINCETONIANS, page 11

DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015 THE PRINCETON SUN 11

Princetonians contribute
to community through year
PRINCETONIANS
Continued from page 10
for the Middle States Association
of Colleges and Schools. She is a
member of the Head Mistresses
Association of the East, the Elementary School Heads Association, and the Horace Mann
League, which supports public
education.
In November, Renee Charity
Price accepted the role as head of
middle school at Princeton Day
School. Replacing Steve Hancock,
who was previous head of middle
school and assistant head of
school for academic leadership at
Princeton Day School, Prices position will become effective July
1, 2015.
Kathryn Rosko, PDS director of
communications, said Ms. Price
was chosen from among nearly 70
candidates including dozens of
sitting middle school heads and a
handful of heads of school who
vied for this position. After meeting with faculty, staff, parents and
students, Ms. Price emerged as
the top candidate, and we are
thrilled that she will be joining
Princeton Day School this summer.
Price has been teaching for 14
years, technically. Her first experience as an educator came at the
age of 13 through a volunteer program at her alma mater and current employer, Saint Catherines
in Virginia. It was then that she
fell in love with teaching; those
memories resurfaced as she studied for the LSATs and pointed her
back in the direction of academia.
Word of the opportunity to join
PDS came through an old classmate, Paris McLean, who attended Columbia University Teachers
College with Price. Price said
McLean, a PDS faculty member
and alumni, was a wonderful ambassador of the school and rightfully so. Price researched the
school and continued to learn of
its many strengths during an appropriately rigorous interview

process. Drawing from her background, she asked a lot of questions and found that PDS possessed many of the qualities she
respected and exemplified in private education.
For me, the motive behind education is to help prepare students for lives of extraordinary
purpose. In my opinion, there are
extraordinary things happening
at Princeton Day School every
day sustainability, technological
integration, health and wellness
initiatives its on the cutting
edge while drawing from rich tradition and a strong alumni base,
Price said. My goal is to sustain
that ethos and at the same push
the needle forward.

A year of spotlights:
Princetonians who did
something to remember

%
$

The Sun spotlights those who

contribute to the vibrant Princeton community. In 2014, there
were countless individuals who
did great things in art, music and
more. Here are a few to remember.
Alan Chimacoff, photographer,
architect and professor, brought
resident concerns to light with a
September exhibit at the Princeton Public Library. The exhibit,
put on by the library and Arts
Council of Princeton, proposed a
drastic, but pragmatic solution to
a long-term plight of residents in
town; power outages. Put simply,
Chimacoff would like to see every
power line and power pole moved
underground by the year 2020.
Chimacoff explained that he
began wanting to create an exhibit expressing his dissatisfaction
please see LIU, page 12

12 THE PRINCETON SUN DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015

Liu hosts second solo concert

LIU

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Is a privately held company
Is headquartered within the Princeton Region
Is locally owned (What this means - that the
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Continued from page 11

with the current power pole

arrangement in Princeton years
ago.
I have received comments
from people about having their
eyes opened, very gratifying.
And, people think they are great
photographs as photographs
and that is most meaningful to me
since my photographs are generally neither topical nor political
but rather have high artistic aspirations, Chimacoff said.
On Oct. 14, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Bureau of Recycling
Planning honored Hawkins Sutter, a St. Paul School of Princeton
fifth grader, for his poem about recycling.
Hawkins poem was submitted
last year into the departments
contest for young writers in
grades four to six. He was one of
five students in his age group
statewide and the sole Princeton
resident to receive the 2014 Poetry
Contest prize at the 34th Annual
Recycling and Awards Ceremony

held at Jumping Brook Country

Club in Neptune. The ceremony
was hosted by the Christie administration to honor various groups
and individuals who are proactive leaders in recycling and sustainability. Hawkins can now consider himself an eco-friendly
trailblazer who has continued to
pursue poetry.
Joanne Lee Kim is a Princeton
resident artist who was featured
in the Hopewell Valley Stampede
and is dedicated to bringing the
community together with collaborative art. Upon moving to the
area in mid-2013, Lee said that
Princeton would always represent her commitment to becoming an artist, the place where she
arose.
Kim has been working primarily as a teaching artist thats my
capacity when I work with
groups, she says. I facilitate
processes where groups can come
together and create art, reflection
and a demonstration of how people can come together to make the
community a better place. Ideas
flowing and imagination, Kim believes, is better for productivity
and creativity. With experience
teaching her methods of collaboration at various schools, youth

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groups, adult groups, and conferences in and around Princeton,

Kim prepares an activity, prompts
a dialogue, and enjoys seeing her
participants share a part of themselves and they form greater relationships and a deeper sense of
community.
When Charlie Liu is not romancing the world with his flying fingers, being interviewed
on Oprah at 8 years old or The
Ellen DeGeneres Show at 6, and
organizing solo benefit concerts
to better others, he is just a regular teenage boy. Despite his reputation as a world-renowned pianist, Charlie maintains a modest
ethos that seems to keep him
grounded here to his Princeton
roots.
On Sunday, Aug. 17, Charlie returned to Channing Hall to host
his second solo concert. The benefit concert was to raise funds for
the volunteer Plainsboro Rescue
Squad, which serviced the Liu
family several years ago when
their youngest son, William, became alarmingly ill. Charlie
worked for one year to prepare 12
pieces, though one composition
in particular, La Campanella,
required two years of Charlies
dedication the longest he has
ever taken to master a piece before a show.
The concert turned out better
than Charlie and his family had
hoped. More than 150 people
came to support Charlie and his
cause to donate to a compassionate, life-saving organization that
helps the community.
The week of July 4 was abuzz
with news of Princeton University Professor Danielle Allens findings regarding a small oversight
with huge implications an error
in the Declaration of Independence. During her research at the
Institute for Advanced Study,
Allen took particular notice of
the sentence, We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness. as
transcribed by the National
Archive.
please see PRINCETON, page 13

DEC. 31, 2014JAN. 6, 2015 THE PRINCETON SUN 13

Princeton University
professor discovers error
in Declaration of Independence
PRINCETON
Continued from page 12
Allen discovered that the period at the end of this sentence,
while present in the most popular
version of the text, is not present
in many others and is immediately followed by that to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed, That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and
to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety

and Happiness.
Allen determined the period in
question to actually be a comma
and changed the syntax of history, as the world knew it.
Know someone or something
you think deserves a moment in
The Sun Spotlight in 2015? Email:
Erica@theprincetonsun.com.

RAY OF HOPE FUND

Were counting on you!
Make a fully tax-deductible contribution to
The Ray of Hope Fund today, and well be able to
help organizations in your neighborhood
tomorrow and for years to come.

PSA

The Ray of Hope Fund is part of the Community Foundation of South Jersey,
a 501c3 organization. The Ray of Hope Fund makes micro-donations to community
organizations that have a significant impact in the neighborhoods they serve.

National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline
(800) 273-8255

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