Home improvement Raiders rolling Warming Up Fall is the perfect time to spruce up The NBTHS boys soccer South Brunswick High School your home inside and out team remains undefeated hosts Tournament of Champions Band Festival Page 17 Page 29 Page 3 SentineServing South Brunswick l OCTOBER 8,1998 VOLUME 5, NUMBER 50 Student arrested for threatening teacher Teacher feared rebellious student had a weapon BY CHARLES W.KIM to remove the student, in North Brunswick pending Staff Writer according to police. a Tuesday hearing in Family It was then, according to Court. 15-year-old South police, that the juvenile Police said that he was Brunswick High became verbally abusive and released to house arrest until A School student is told the teacher that he had a the trial date, following the under house arrest, and has "44." The teacher thought hearing. The student has also been suspended from school the student was referring to a been suspended from school after allegedly telling a .44-caliber handgun and the for six days. teacher that he had a "44." police were called. Schools Superintendent Police announced on Police did not reveal fur- Samuel Stewart declined to Tuesday that the juvenile ther details about the con- comment on the case was arrested Monday morn- frontation. Wednesday, but did say the ing following an argument Police responded to the district has a "zero-toler- with a teacher during a class school and took the juvenile ance" policy when it comes at the high school on Ridge into custody, charging him to student threats. Road. with making terroristic Police Chief Michael The student threatened threats. Paquette said Wednesday the teacher, police said, Police searched the stu- that the arrest "just shows when the teacher confronted dent for a weapon but did that this town is not exempt" him for interrupting a class not find one. School officials from such incidents. that was in session. also searched the student's Paquette also said that the The teacher asked the stu- locker, but no weapon was town needs to prepare and dent to leave the class, but found. "be ready for anything." the student reportedly The student was lodged at Paquette recently pro- refused, so the teacher called the Middlesex County posed assigning five police the office to ask for an escort Juvenile Detention Facility Continued on page 14 Tricia Houle of Morristown and Jason Cohen of Somerset fine-tune their world-class skating skills at the Kendall Park Skating Rink. Jackie Pollack/Greater Media Off to conquer world Freestyle, pairs roller-skating champs hoping for gold in Bogota BY WANDA GARRIN Cohen and U.S. freestyle champion Tricia Houle, both of whom have Correspondent trained throughout their careers at the he Kendall Park Roller Skating Kendall Park rink on Route 27. Rink in South Brunswick has The competition includes four roller- T bragging rights to two world- skating categories - figures, freestyle, class roller skaters who will be vying for dance, and pairs. Approximately 30 gold medals at next month's world countries will be competing, including championships in Bogota, Colombia. Italy, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Joining the 24-mernber U.S. team at Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Peter Levine of North Brunswick works on his tennis skills at Woodlot Park in South New Zealand and Australia. Brunswick. Jackie Pollack/Greater Media the 1998 World Championships on Nov. 11-14 will be U.S. pairs champion Jason Continued on page 14 GiAMARESEFARM 155 Fresh Ponds Road H GREENS East Brunswick Haunted House 2147 Highway 35, Holmdel 732-821-9494 732-264-4454 CHEESEQUAKE FARMS Cliffwood Union Beach Spook House TERHUNE ORCHARDS Keansburg rt Route 9 & Jake Brown Rd ^"Keyport "T. SsP° Monmouth 330 Cold Soil Road, Princeton Old Bridge 609-924-2310 732-721-5728 35) Middletown Helrnetta-. Jarnesburg Wesr\ (Cranbury Windsor /Enghshtown If WINDSOR FARM VON THUN'S COUNTRY 1202 Windsor Road FARM MARKET W. Windsor Route 522 • Ridge Road Dayton Robbinsville Hightstown 609-443-9379 732-329-8656 Allenhurst 33>^ Neptu^e\^ (^/Asbury Park " Ocean Grove radley Beach won by the Sea Belmar Spring Lake JOE BAELES FARM 476 Riva Avenue Sea Girt East Brunswick Cream Ridg Manasquan 732-821-0610 POPS FARM MARKET PICK TOUR i\ PUMPKINS #$ CORN Rt. 615 Cranbury Station OWN PUMPKINS \^J FORSflLE m, MflZES Cranbury 609-655-4175 Your listing can be here 1-800-660-4ADS SENTINEL, OCTOBER 8,1998 3 EPA presents £no 92? decision to township BY CHARLES W. KIM ¥ Staff Writer SOUTH BRUNSWICK — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency iepre- sentatives officially informed the Township Committee Tuesday of the agency's decision to uphold objections to the Route 92 project. The township has been one of the major opponents of the proposed 6.7-mile link between Turnpike Exit 8A and Route 1 through South Brunswick, which would cost an esti- WARMING UP — Eighth-grade color guard member Lmdsey Rodriguez prac- mated $350 mil- tices with her squad before their 10:15 p.m. performance during the lion. Tournament of Champions Band Festival at the Crossroads Middle School in EPA Regional South Brunswick on Saturday. A d m i n i s t r a t o r Jackie Pollack/Gieater Media George Pavlou said Check out The Entertainer. thai the EPA didn't Page 14 believe the Turn- pike Authority proved a need for Six of 10 school buses the road. George Pavlou • Classifieds Page 32 lie said that the agency hired an outside firm to study the • Editorials Page 12 traffic in the region to see if the road was • Entertainment.. .Page 14 get a passing grade warranted, because, as Pavlou explained, "We (the EPA) don't study traffic, we •Letters Page 12 look at the environment." several parents affected by the bus compa- • Marketplace . .. .Page 31 Jastyke Transportation The authority applied to the DEP in ny voiced their concern during the public January 1997 for permission to take • Milestones Page 15 has 30 days to repair portion of the meeting. approximately 18 acres of wetlands for District Transportation Supervisor • Obituaries Page 28 remaining four the Route 92 project in the township. John Longo released the inspection Pavlou said that the results of the • Police Beat Page 27 BY CHARLES W. KIM reports on the vehicles Monday. study provided an alternative to the pro- Jeff Lamb, a state Department of • Sports Page 29 Staff Writer posed toll road. Motor Vehicles spokesman, said that the It found that completion of the project SOUTH BRUNSWICK — The head system for inspecting school buses would not alleviate many of the current of school bus inspections for the state changed after July 6, providing for a traffic congestion problems at regional Division of Motor Vehicles said Tuesday "more rigorous inspection of vehicles." intersections. Phone numbers: that all 10 Jastyke school buses servicing Lamb said that the change stems from Pavlou said that a no-build alternative, the township are "in service." Gov. Whitman's task force on school bus connecting the turnpike to Route 130, Editorial 254-7000 Ext. 8226 Mark Marino, head of school bus safety. improving the current intersections that FAX 254-0486 inspections, said that six of the 10 buses Under the new system, inspection are already approved for renovation, and belonging to Jastyke Transportation Inc. teams go to the operator's garage to the completion of Route 522 would Display Advertising 972-6740 of Princeton have passed inspection and inspect the buses. The system allows more achieve the same objectives as the pro- FAX 972-6746 have received six-month stickers. The time to be spent examining the buses and posed road and only cost about $73 mil- remaining four buses have 30-day stick- also allows mechanics to fix some prob- lion. lems right on the spot. ers. This alternative, Pavlou told the com- Classified 1-800-66CMADS The buses with the 30-day stickers Lamb said that under this system, a bus Classified FAX 432-0016 mittee, would leave the wetlands intact, have minor problems which need to be may be taken off the road in the morning, not take residential homes, and preserve repaired within that time, but are still undergo repairs, and may pass the test by Delivery problems? the farmland that the Route 92 project allowed to operate, according to Marino. the afternoon. threatened. Call circulation at 264-1755 The state classifies violations as minor, Longo said that he feels the newer sys- before noon on Friday. Pavlou said that the "clock is ticking" which warrant 30-day stickers, and major tem is better because it saves the district as the DEP reviews the EPA decision. It violations, which require that the bus be the time that drivers formerly spent going has 30 days, until Oct. 26, to respond. taken off the road immediately. to the inspection stations and waiting in At this point, the DEP has three The transportation company has line. options, he explained. worked for the district as a subcontractor The new system provides for checks of The first would be to satisfy the EPA Sentinel for several years and handles about 20 the buses for about 150 different safety objections to the project; the second, to routes, including three runs to St. items, some of which are not as serious as deny the permit; and the third, to do noth- Augustine's School, a private school in others. ing and let the Turnpike Authority appeal Managing Editor Marilyn Duff Kendall Park. "It is very easy for a bus to fail," the EPA decision to the U.S. Army Corps Sports Coordinator Lindsey Siegle Last week the Board of Education con- Marino said.