3"ocon)* o o w m # SERVING DAYTON, KENDALL PARK, KINGSTON, MONMOUTH JUNCTION z X o # xcucoro* o o ui* c x r ± * H * I-*0> * 00 sO TIME OFF SPORTS Daylight Come The main Man(dato) Harry Belafonte talks about music, Viking Jason Mandato clears politics and a benefit for Trenton 14 feet en route to a third-place students. Also inside: A wild, wild fete finish. and the art of Jacob Landau. Page 17A . B r u n s w i c k Vol. 43, No. 22 % Thursday, June 3, 1 999 www.packetonline.com 6 0 C en ts District mulls $54.3 million school plan 5/6, 9th-grade buildings on table Panel nixes year-round strategy By Bernadette Yannacci tion 2 — would accommodate an ninth-graders. Staff Writer additional 1,800 students by build­ The separate ninth-grade build­ By Bernadette Yannacci The Superintendent’s Com­ said a plan could be disruptive to ing a second 700-student upper el­ ing would be built on 26 acres ad­ Staff Writer mittee on Year-Round Schooling the district and that community says community opposition is concern outweighed the potential The Board of Education’s Fa­ ementary school, a separate, self- jacent to the high school. The two contained 900-student grade nine buildings would make up what A committee that investigat­ too great and that community cost savings of the proposal. cilities Committee is tentatively members would need to be edu­ planning to recommend a $54.3 school, a 200-student addition to would be considered a high school ed a year-round schooling pro­ The Superintendent’s Com­ million building plan to the board Crossroads and an addition to its “campus.” posal for the district says the dis­ cated on the year-round school­ mittee on Year-Round Schooling as part of a proposed Oct. 5 voter cafeteria, and by buying 30 acres The committee focused on the trict should not pursue the ing plan before it could be im­ referendum. for the second elementary school option. plemented. The committee also See PLAN, Page 11A The plan — now known as Op­ and 26 acres for the school for See SCHOOL, Page 13A Residents: In memoriam Bomb Beekman Veterans from American Legion Post 401 and VFW Posts 9111 and 11219, and traffic light members of Boy Scout Toop 10 and Girl Scout Troops 857 and 1690 turned out at scare Miller Memorial Presbyterian Church in a priority Monmouth Junction Sunday for an annual Memorial Day flag dedication ceremony. By Steve Bates Participants formed a color guard and closes Staff Writer raised an American flag donated by the Girl Scouts and a POW-MIA flag donated Residents urged the Township by Post 401. About 90 people attended Council Tuesday to abandon plans the dedication. Left, Hank DeGroff of Post to realign Beekman Road and in­ 401 and Si Volek of Post 9111 bow their school stall a traffic light at its current heads. By Steve Bates alignment where it forms a T-inter- Staff Writer section with Route 27. “The money you’d need to put Staff photos by John Keating the signal where the road is now is A bomb threat scribbled on a piece of less than the $4.2 million allotted paper was handed to a teacher Wednesday, to move the road to an intersection forcing the second evacuation of the Up­ that doesn’t let anyone in,” said per Elementary School on Georges Road David Schaefer of Brunswick within eight days. Acres. The note was found by a sixth-grade Jay Cornell, assistant township student, who handed it to a teacher at engineer, said the traffic light ap­ about 12:10 p.m. It was brought to Princi­ plication under review by the state pal Nathan Levy, who called the police. Department of Transportation is The school was immediately evacuated, for the current alignment of Beek­ said Len Santamaria, assistant principal. man Road. The Township Council A simliar event occured at UES May will have to decide whether to in­ 25, resulting in the evacuation of the school. stall the light at the road’s current Mr. Santamaria described the note as alignment or ask the DOT if it can “a small one like last time.” The note said move the road and move the ap­ a bomb would go off in the school at 3:30 proval for the light, he said. p.m., he said. Mayor Debra Johnson said the The school’s fifth- and sixth-grade stu­ township does not expect to rea­ dents were sent across the UES athletic lign the road with Franklin Town­ fields to Crossroads School, where they ship’s Beekman Road at the mo­ remained until dismissal at normal end of ment. She added that the DOT the school day. warrant study for a traffic light at As South Brunswick police officers the present intersection will take Left, Kevin Kornfeld of Boy Scout Troop 10 and Dennis Collingwood, second vice commander of Post 401, salute the flag; right, checked the building for a possible bomb some time. without the aid of bomb sniffing dogs, the “We can't make the state go George Dyer of Troop 10 plays “Taps.” UES administrative staff began a phone any faster,” she said. The warrant study should be See Bomb, Page 13A delivered to the township within the next 60 days, according to Mr. Cornell. DOT has told the township that the quickest way to get Beekman Town to sue developer Road realigned is to get the study completed first then ask for per­ mission to move the light. The rea­ lignment would move the road far­ over land for Rt. 522 ther south, so that it lines up with Franklin’s Beekman Road. By Steve Bates Staff Writer See BEEKMAN, Page 11A Residents wary of highway. The township plans to sue the developer of Page3A Princeton Gate over a disputed piece of prop­ erty needed to complete Route 522. The Township Council voted 5-0 Tuesday Robert J. D’Anton, president of VAST, for Calendar 14A to pay Township Attorney Bert Busch $10,000 failure to turn over the property. The office to sue VAST-NJ of Lavalette in Ocean County regulates developers of town houses and con­ Classified 1B for failure to turn over a contested piece of dominiums. property to the development’s homeowners as­ The homeowners association clams it is the Editorial 10A sociation, which in turn plans to give the prop­ rightful owner of the land in question because erty to the township for Route 522. the original public offering statement says it Obituaries 4A “We have sufficient evidence in our files would be conveyed to the association after 75 Police 4A that VAST-NJ’s predecessor was obligated to percent of the units in the development were turn over the property to the homeowner’s as­ sold. According to Sylvia Lee, association Sports 17 A sociation,” said Mr. Busch. president, that threshold was reached April 12, VAST became responsible for turning over 1995. the property once it agreed to take over con­ struction of Princeton Gate, he said. Mr. D’Anton has said VAST owns the par­ South Brunswick also wants the court to cel and attempted to sell the land to the town­ force VAST to pay for the relocation of the ship for $65,000 for the completion of Route large sign for the development, which sits on 522. The township broke off negotiations with the contested property at the comer of Route 1 VAST after being contacted by the homeown­ and Promenade Boulevard (Route 522), said ers association and is currently holding the Mr. Busch. The brick and metal sign is on a deed to the property in escrow. hill, which will make it very expensive to The public offering statement was issued move, he said. by Reider Land Technologies, which original­ Mr. Busch said the reason the township, ly owned and built the first portion of the de­ and not the Princeton Gate Homeowners Asso­ velopment. The property eventually was ciation. is suing VAST is because the township turned over to First Fidelity Bank (now First Hot tunes needs the property. Union) in lieu of foreclosure, and VAST pur­ Staff photo by John Keating chased Princeton Gate in 1993 from the bank. Check out our com­ The township and the homeowners associ­ Summer shower ation had asked the state Department of Com­ Ms. Lee said the association will be happy prehensive Summer munity Affairs to intervene in the matter in to give the land to the township at no charge if Andrew Woller and Alysa Marcov have some fun under the shower in the small Concert listings on April. Mr. Busch said the township has decid­ it means the intersection of Route 1 and Prom­ pool at the Willows Swim Club on Sand Hills Road Saturday. The pool club offi­ packetonline.com ed not to wait for the state’s help. enade Boulevard can be improved. The associ­ cially opened for summer this weekend. In April, the agency’s Planned Real Estate ation asserts the intersection is too narrow and Development office issued an order against poses a safety hazard. 2A South Brunswick Post Thursday, June 3. 1999 SCHOOLS & GOVERNMENT Unless otherwise specified, all meetings are at the Municipal Build­ ing. Ridge Road, Monmouth Junction. School board meetings are in the South Brunswick High School cafeteria. South Brunswick Cable Television broadcasts meetings of the Town­ ship Committee, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment live m* on channel 3 and the Board of Education live on channel 28.