Memorial Day 1978 S.P

T T j. - SCOTCH PLAINS VOLUME 28 NUMBER 22 SCOTCH PLA1NS-FANWOOD THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1978 20 CENTS Memorial Day 1978 S.P. homes fall prey to robbers In the past three weeks, breaking and entry "artists" walked off with personal property valued at between $44,000 and $50,000 . , , from just four homes In Scotch Plains. Im- pressive figure? It's but the tip of the jceberg, according to Sergeant Ron Donnelly, who handles B&E's for the local force. He and his fellow officers are frustrated by public apathy. Donnelly provides further statistics. During the period betwenn May 1 and May 26, ten homes, schools and businesses were broken into. In the month of April, 17 entries were made, and another 17 were logged for March. f What's the pattern? Generally, robbers are entering homes by breaking in rear windows, or rear door windows. Most of the B&E's oc- Left, a smoke-spouting mini fire engine, anc> cur during early evening hours, and the bulk Colonial marching unit highlighted the an* of the residential break-ins are concentrated nual Memorial Day Parade, held on Mon- in the Rahway Road, Raritan Road, Ash- day, May 29. brook Drive, Cooper Road areas. The robbers are primarily after easily portable valuables. Jewelry and silverware head the list, followed by portable color TV's, LaGrande leased at $10,000 a year cameras, and other small but expensive items. "Many of these people have lost jewelry The Board of Education leased LaGrande The Board of Education had sold the historical registries. The form had been that is valuable not only intrissically, but sen- School to Covenant Christian School of Nor- building to Maker,, Inc:, two years' ago, presented to the state review committee, timentally," Donnelly said. "There's really th Flainfield last week, on a two-year basis at Maker, a developer, had planned to seek a which committee recommended the old no value that can be placed on family and $10,000 per year, with an option to renew for variance to build a 37-apartment complex on school to the deputy state preservation office heirloom jewelry pieces," a third year. the site. His successful bid of $185,000 was for designation. To date, however, no of- , The police department has solved armed The small school was left homeless recen- contingent upon successful application for ficial action has yet been taken to affirm robberies, bank robberies, etc., but the local tly, when a fire destroyed a wing of the variance. However, last week, the Scotch designation. breaking and entry situation stymies them, Hydewood Park Baptist Church in north Plains Board of Adjustment, to whom he If a condemnation contract had been ap- because people fail to take the precautions Plainfield, where the school housed junior, had made application, dismissed his case. plied for before such time as the school might that could deter criminals. "You don't and senior high students, Maker's attorney Daniel Bernstein, said appear on the state register of landmark necessarily have to socialize with your neigh- Makor had not been actively pursuing the buildings, it might be possible to raze the bors to have a common concern for home LaGrande school will close for the final .variance because of the condemnation building, Karchner said. However, in the safety," the Sergeant said. He urged all time on June 23, The Board of Education proceedings, but might reactivate his plans if local situation, Karchner said federal funding residents to keep a watchful eye out for decided this spring to discontinue the school the condemnation did not go through. He sources for senior citizen housing are in- neighboring homes. People should never as an educational facility as of next Septem- has previously asked for a deferral in the case volved. In such cases, whether the building is hesitate to telephone the police department if ber, citing enrollment declines throughout before the Board. or is not yet on a registry of land mark they even suspect anything at all out of line th district. Some time ago, another party interested in buildings, its value as a cultural resource is a — a sound, a strange car, strange people. definite factor in application for such fun- The work is on our part, Donnelly said. Although LaGrande was only closed recen- the elderly school — a developer from south Jersey — took an interest in the historical ding. We're happy to check out every instance that tly, it already has occupants for next Sep. is reported to us. tember. Another local elementary school, background of the school, which was Old School One, on Park Avenue in Scotch designed by famous architect Stanford It would not be permissible to tear it down Burglars are vey often deterred if entry White, and contacted the state Department in a situation where federal funding is In- will take a long time, he explained, People Plains, still remains boarded up and unused. of Environmental Protection's office of .can take simple precautions to make their The township of Scotch Plains plans to volved, until such time as a review of its Historic Preservation, seeking historical cultural value, would be made and the homes less appealling to robbers, but all too acquire the school for senior citizen housing. designation. often fail to do so. The police department Under the plans for the new housing, the old possibilities of alternatives considered. Ap- This week, Terry Karchner of the D.E.P. plicant %vould be responsible for seeking this will gladly perform a security check on any school would be razed and new apartments local home. Many times, they'll recommend constructed with federal funding. The town- updated information on the application. information, Karchner said. In such Karchner said the Office of Historical situations, studies are made of the alter- a spotlight at corners of the house, to be ship has initiated condemnation proceedings, lighted when people are away. Lights on in- and has appropriated $130,000 for Protection has prepared a form for ap- natives to using the building intact or razing plication for both state and national it, he said. side a house is a deterrent, as are good acquisition. locks. The police will happily check all these, "If you know you're going to be away — Fanwood Library: for a few hours, or a few weeks — let a neighbor know, so that someone will be Helping partially blind become partially 'sighted' aware of activity at your home," he suggested. In high crime areas, the police will Many very successful people now are system — will preview at the library during the grant, Fanwood identified its role in aiding provide stake-out alarms in homes for limited by eyesight failure. With an effective period from June 6 through July 10. low and moderate income families by, noting vacationeers. Some homeowners have tool, they can once again read, and restore VISUALTEK is a video low vision aid that that the target population for machine usage already same for July and August vacation meaning and purpose to their lives. Toward enables people with moderate to severe sight would be members of such families who are periods, The Detective Bureau also has that end, the Fanwood Memorial Library limitation to easily and independently read either visually limited, reading deficient youth, available an engraver. People can borrow it hopes soon to become a regional center for the and write. Each system uses a television or elderly. The provision of this new service at by telephoning police headquarters, 322- visually impaired; monitor, a camera and a powerful lens. Nearly the local library would eliminate blight, it was ,7100, and may inscribe their license no. on valuables for identification purposes. The Fanwood Library Board of Trustees anything that can be "Seen" by the cameia said, by providing personal and vocational and the Borough Council recently applied to can be viewed greatly magnified — to over 60 development for such people. HUD Community Development for $80,000 to times original size — on a monitor screen. The There are no similar facilities now in ex- expend library facilities here. As a part of their user selects how large, how bright, or dark the istence within Union county. The selection of application, the library included a proposal image should be and whether to view it as the Fanwood memorial Library is an excellent Index for a reading center for the visually limited, a white on black background (negative) or black choice, according to Librarian Grace Poaltz on white (positive). CLASSIFIED 25 remedial reading room for Fanwood and and Tom Nuana, a trustee, because it is so EDITORIAL..,,. ...4 Scotch Plains youth identified as deficient in Nearly anyone with some vision (as low as well situated for public transportation, the basic reading skills, a literary resource center Vi of 1 percent in a stronger eye) can use a proximity of the railroad and buses will enable ENTERTAINMENT 11 for the elderly, and an elevator ramp system to VISUALTEK, including people with the visually limited from many communities to LEGALS 22 remove the present architectural barriers peripheral or tunnel vision, glaucoma or take advantage of the new service,- ,JIEAL ESTATE •. 22 which restrict the mobility and accesibility of cataracts. Most potential users are legally At present, the VISUALTEK RS-6 is on RELIGIOUS SERVICES.,. 15 elderly and handicapped people. blind, but people with relatively minor impair- loan for the one-month period as an introduc- SERVICES..... 25 Although the new library addition is not yet ment often find VISUALTEK preferable to tory trial period. However, the trustees now SOCIAL TIMES , 10 a reality, one of the most important tools for other type of magnification.

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