Your Local Connection July 19, 2007 North Brunswick • South Brunswick 50<> Metamorphosis Girl Scouts build new butterfly garden in N.B, Page 8 SCOTT PILLING staff Sagar Patel (I) works with North Brunswick Township High School Raider Robotix team member Srirag Babu during Lego Camp, created by the team To the extreme to foster interest in the community in the robotics program. The camp is being held throughout July. New skateboard and iiQbby shop in S.B. PagetS New town center proposed in Dayton the southwestern edge would be Quote of the week: Mixed-use concept two-story residences, and the remainder would be mixed-use. "It appears to be a transit met with skepticism village without the transit." Stormwater would be controlled by council, neighbors through the construction of a large pond around the northeast- — Charles Cariey BY CHRIS GAETANO ern corner of the lot. Landscaping South Brunswick Staff Writer Councilman throughout will contribute to the Cover story proposal for a new village town-center feel, with well-mani- in Dayton consisting of cured lawns and rows of trees. A retail, offices and housing At the moment, the area is an has been met with caution and empty lot zoned for office use, but skepticism by township officials Kent-Smith said that it would Index "bring people into this property to Classified 31 and residents. While members of the council create a kind of community." For Crossword 22 comparison, he said that it would Editorials 10 have said they will review the con- cept in more detail, they expressed be similar, though still markedly Entertainment .19 different, to the town center in Obituaries .24 strong doubts about the benefits of the project being touted by the neighboring Plainsboro. When On Campus- 14 pressed for further examples, the Police Beat .18 developer. This artist's rendering, on file with the township, shows a basic concept The proposal, brought forth by of what developer Richardson Properties Corp. would like to build on a Florida town of Celebrations, Real Estate .27 which was created from the 29 Pennsylvania-based Richardson vacant Dayton tract near the Stop & Shop. Properties Corp., would create a ground up by Disney, was also mixed-use town center on a 49- stone. Essentially, the proposal cited. acre tract near the intersection of Directly to the west is Fresh would create a pedestrian-friend- The key to creating a success- Routes 522 and 130, of which 25 Ponds Village, currently owned ly Main Street with small shops, ful village, said Kent-Smith, was the integration with the sur- 4 Greater Kfedia Newspaper would be developed. An attorney by Richardson Properties. To the townhouses, apartments and sev- for the firm, Henry Kent-Smith, north is Stop & Shop. To the eral places for public gatherings, rounding areas, which he said stressed that everything that was south is Dayton Auto Center. To such as a gazebo and clubhouse. Dayton was particularly well 'www.gmnews.com being presented was only a con- the east, across Route 522, is the The western edge of the project suited for. This, he said, was due cept, with no provisions set in Accutest Laboratory. would be three-story residences, (Continued on page 25) 2 SENTINEL, July 19, 2007 NS SAL1 PHASE 3 OVER • Homeowners StOOO Trees & Evergreens • Landscapes • Garden Centers Must be sold (Good Varieties) SAT., JULY 21st • 1OAM-3PM Located at Schibanoff Road Gate (FREEHOLD ONLY) Priced from... •• to 1 Pick Your Own • Load Your Own • cash Only Perennials Ornamental Great Blooms The Many Varieties Greatest Color! 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HOURS Mon-Sat 8-7 RT. 34 Gift Shop • Water Garden • Statuary • Fountains COLTS NECK Sun 8-6 732-462-2700 Home Decor •Mulches • Stones * Patio Blocks • Fertilizers nor ALUTEMSAVAILASLE 732-462-0900 MOMMOU1M COUaiTUES LAI&€EST SELECTION AT BOTH LOCATIONS 11 = RT 537 •INTERSECTION DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • FREE CUSTOM IANDSCAPE DESIGN Fw The Bo It VouneWwt NS SENTINEL, July 19, 2007 3 Emergency responders put nerves to the test Drill aims to reproduce the unpredictable feel *& ^ J|O|j jjijfc * *lft jr, of a terrorist attack BY JENNIFER AMATO 2WR'" >••> Staff Writer Editor's note: The following account occurred as a training exercise coordinated by the North Brunswick Township Department of Public Safety. Although the incident happened as described, the events were simulated and no one was injured. he North Brunswick Police Department received a phone call T Saturday morning from a man claiming there were explosive devices located in a building at the former Johnson & Johnson property on Route 1. He said that a group angered by possible animal testing had planted chemicals in the building, prompting the department to immediately dispatch officers to the site. When first responders Patrolman Wayne DeGaetano and Sgt. Anthony Falcone arrived on scene, they tended to a victim who had run out of the building. The man was coughing, holding his eyes and rolling on the ground, yelling that he couldn't breathe or see. As a call was made to the command post, who in turn notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Homeland Security Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Above, North Brunswick Police Sgt. Anthony Falcone radios in for assistance after eval- Middlesex County HAZMAT and uating the scene of a chemical attack on the former Johnson & Johnson property on hostage rescue team, a woman Route 1 on Saturday. The simulated drill was an exercise evaluating the emergency emerged from . the building, response services of all organizations involved with the Department of Public Safety. At •if left, a "victim" lies on the floor awaiting rescue. coughing and holding herself, pimp mi JH saying there was smoke -1 tain denied knowing anyone by the name as officers having to perform rescue oper- ;" throughout the building. of Rooth when he was called. Detective ations with gas masks on, which hinders At that point, a third 4 -is ' !.-- Michael McGinn said that during a 15- communication; the necessity of docu- responding officer, Cory Harris, ;/' '• ••. i minute interrogation, Rooth's story was menting information accurately; and the arrived wearing a gas mask and '-'[ '«/" not consistent, and several victims had critical need for communication between moved into the building, helping jH identified him as a suspect. Rooth was all agencies. a woman who was on her knees. taken into investigative detention, where "If we were in a real response, we N '1- '- ; Falcone then entered, seeing a \>§ it was determined that he was responsi- wouldn't know where [victims were] in man lying near a barrel believed i ble for the attack. this building. Today we closed off a cer- to be filled with the chemical substance. Most were treated at the scene for respi- tain section, but it would've been a much At this time, Falcone became contami- ratory complaints, and there were no Lessons learned from drill longer search because we wouldn't know nated and was removed from the scene. fatalities. where to stop," firefighter Tim Morley As a result, Harris was forced to take At the same time, the chemical cloud Rooth was literally handcuffed and said. control of the subsequent operations as a began to travel southeast toward about interrogated but was merely acting in the The interoperability of the new emer- secondary explosive device was triggered. 2,000 homes in the Renaissance develop- drill and did not suffer any injuries. He gency services radio system was also put Simultaneous to the police response, ment. There was a family who was told said he was treated well, but the men to a test, with communication going members of the fire department arrived they needed to be evacuated but refused acted as true detectives do. smoothly for the most part. to conduct a search and rescue operation. to leave their home. They resisted police "It was kind of in fun, but it was part of "When you do a drill like this, you Three teams of firemen went room by but were eventually brought to a tempo- what they needed to do, so they took it seri- learn a lot. Could it be better? Of course room searching for victims. People were rary shelter set up at the high school by ously," he said. "The questions were pretty it could ... but the purpose is to learn a found behind copy machines, in bath- the Office of Emergency Management, aggressive ... and I was surprised they put lot," said Anderson. "It was a good coordi- rooms trying to wash out their eyes, hid- where other residents were waiting. me in handcuffs, which I didn't think they nated effort. There was a unified com- ing in cabinets and banging on windows. would do, but it was so real I appreciate mand system ..