T Your Local Connection April 24, 2008 North Brunswick • South Brunswick Entertainment Check out this work's Just Go' New invention Menlo Park Museum talks about expansion Pago 3 Quote of the week: "This is your child and you obviously caro about SCOTT FRIEDMAN your children, so ask Jonathan Sprout sings about the greatness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the "American Heroes" assembly at Judd Elementary School in North Brunswick on Friday. He also spoke of Sacagawea, George Washington, Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln. questions," — Ciina Marie Tisehio School budgets fail in North and South Bruns* "I'm disappointed that it failed. I think this The increase was also going toward imple- Now town councils Board of Education, with [Superintendent] Dr. menting a full-day kindergarten program in must decide by May 19 [Brian! Zychowski, worked very hard to get the fall, a promise made to voters if they Index this message out. I think it was very lean. I approved a building referendum in 2006, Classified .40 how much money to cut think the fact that we brought in an auditor to which they did. Crossword ,. .21 go line by line and get rid of line items that "We are not stopping the wonderful things Editorials 12 BY JENNIFER AMATO & CHRIS MUIUNO were not reasonable ... there was not much we're doing, we're just not enhancing them," Entertainment 28 Staff Writer* more we could do," said board Vice President Zychowski said. "We have to connect to the Neil Malvone, who is also the chairman of the Real Estate 33 | he school district budgets in both North community and see how they want us to serve Sports 32 Finance Committee. them." and South Brunswick failed by fewer than The district originally wanted to fund a 100 votes during elections on April 15. There were also mandated programs T new high school engineering course, expand included in the budget which were out of the In North Brunswick, the budget failed for academic support, create an ROTO program, district's control, such as a full-day autistic the fourth year in a row, this year by about 50 add an SAT review course, improve technology votes. Only 11 percent of the registered voters program, three teachers of English as a second A Greator Media Newspaper resources, fix the roofs at two schools, conduct language, and a special-education behavior in town voted on the 4.6-cent increase, which site work at the high school, expand the sum- would have raised taxes by $72.65 per year on class. www.gmnews.com mer academy, and add additional classroom an average assessed home of $157,878, or teachers and nurses. (Continued on page 30) about $6 per month. 1 i t* * -1.1 -«l _ •• PROVJDKM' 15ANK SENTINEL, April 24, 2008 NS www.gmnews.com % ROWER1NG "*?/„ 14" COCONiST IW BASKETS GREENHOUSE NOW OPEN! OPEN 7 DAYS READY TO PLANT NOW... , FLAT PWSILN &HOIAS (48 PLANTS) Annuals: 'CnshOrChMksOnlyK . ftVRIGOLDS PET11MA • FLAT OF12 ALL COLORS £ VEGEUBLES & MORE THOUSANDS OF PERENNIALS Jackson & Perkins ROSES 10" HANGING BASKETS FIAT OF Rolls of All American c 48 PLANTS WEED SCREEN 150sq ft. each ROSES $4.99 each Geraniums, New Guinea ^$0<&fii Impatiens, Large W Proven Winners & More Pom-Poms - 6 .Cutting 8" HANGING Geraniums BASKETS Japanese FLOWERING PLUM Startin9at Lace Leaf Maples Alberta Spruce Begonia; Impatient* Weeping Cherry & Flowering Pear Ivy, Geraniums & more Starting at Spirals Dracena Spikes $59.99 each & Vinca Vines 6" Proven $, 12" iarthpots Winners per pot teaich for BACOPA • TORENIA • ASST. VINES ASST. 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Left on Water Street, stay left on LasattaAve. approx. 5 miles to right on Perrineville Rd., which turns into Federal Gaskos is up on the make right on Federal Rd. Gaskos is approx. 3 i ight (approx. 3 miles) miles on left. • 732-446-9205 Front SummerhiU Rd.. East Brunswick From Rt. 520 Open Mon. thru Sat. 9am-5pm • Sunday 9am-3pm Rt. 1 to Rt. 18 to Rues lane to SummerhiU Rd. SummerhiU to to Rt. 9 south to Gordons Corner Rd. into-. 1 nd, make right oa Main St. (Sjiotswood) to 1st light make Hnglishtown, make left on Main Street & right on l< ft on DcVoe Ave, Follow about 7 miles (cross over Rt, 522) Water Street, stay left on LasattaAve.,which turns 112 Federal Rd., Monroe IWp. 10 stop make right On Federal - Qaskos is up on right into Federal Rd. Gaskos is (approx. 3 miles on right) www.gaskosfamilyfarm.com SENTINEL, April 24, 2008 3 H'ww.gmnem.cam " V *' ^ '*" f ^^^iv* ~ Si ^^^ V J T I^Tf • t * ^^^iH^L %34H^ 8^t ^^^^S jC ^^*^^^^^^^t^ ^W|J ^ ftf^SfBl^l! ^^^^ff ~L V SCOTT FRIEDMAN staff The area directly behind the tower, now a grove of trees, would be cleared to make way for a new education center in a proposed expansion to the Menlo Park Museum, which commemorates the life and achievements of famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Museum improvements stress interactivity, community demonstrate Plans for Menlo Park how sound travels, or Museum expansion wave devices presented to residents KJIH^ that show how wave motion BY CHHIS GAETANO works. In this Staff Writer sense, it would function more lans for a vast expansion to the Menlo like a science Park Museum in Edison, which is and technol- Pdedicated to the life and work of ogy museum, Famed inventor and township namesake emphasizing Thomas Alva Edison, were introduced to the principles the public during an April 3 meeting at the behind science municipal building. rather than its Residents were shown artists' render- products. ings of what the new facility might look "It's a cen- like, as well as potential site plans and aer- ter and not ial views. All the while, architects and de- iusl a collection of history," said Rolleri. signers hired by the nonprofit Edison Mcmmiiil Tiiwer -- ,in Zerho said that while a lot of money has Memorial Tower Corp. (EMTG) talked . tf.!..- obelisk built by those who thing beyond that." already been collected, including a $500,000 about their vision for the site's future and worked with the famous inventor to honor state grant, $400,000 in private donations preserving the inventor's legacy. Michael Farewell, the firm's architect, his life — within its grounds. At the mo- and a $375,000 matching grant from the "Thin | site | represents the primary sym- talked about some of his ideas to accom- ment the toweiy which is also the subject of U.S. mint acquired through achieving the bol of our community. ... The hard work, plish this. He said the site could house not a fundraising campaign to enact repairs, private donations, there is still a long way dedication and spirit of innovation he left only the core museum but also learning sits some distance from the current mu- to go. But she expects fundraising to get ibr our community," said Edison Township labs and classrooms that could host educa- seum. easier at this point, however, because there Mayor Jun Choi. tional programs, a theater for demonstra- After that, designer Andrea Rolleri are now specifics as to what the center will Nancy Zerbe, president of the EMTC, tions, and exhibit halls that would have talked about what the content of the new have, and so people will have a more con- said that after lengthy community input, different content over time, so people would facility might look like. She said that first crete idea about what they are contributing a desire for the Menlp Park Museum to re- have reason to come back at later dates. and foremost, it was important to make toward. ally got beyond the traditional museum Farewell then presented three different connections to show how Thomas Edison's Farewell said that in a best-case sce- model began to make itself apparent. She plans for housing all of these features. He life and work are still relevant today. This, nario, there would be a minimum of one said the site should become a center for said he believes that buildings that are "ca- she said, can be accomplished through in- year of getting through planning and ap- the community, a source of civic pride, and pable of growth," that are easy to add ex- teractive displays and exhibits that allow proval, four months of finalizing the draw- could be more integrated into the sur- tensions to, would be best, with a core visitors to the facility to invent and inno- ings, and between one and one and a half rounding Edison State Park as a whole. facility at its heart.