SERVING SOUTH.BRUNSWICK SINCE 1 958 NEWS SPORTS TIME OFF Tiroai-* B usiness growth Record race • . 'I ■ ^ , - .. - • s iu * N ever Again zn<OD« The new president of the South The Viking girls win o r » i— « Contemporary Holocaust art m m z»« iBrunswick Chamber of Commerce their first-evdr winter H < b # comes to the State Museum. o m r • wants 1999 to be a big year. CMC relay title. z r m « Also: Up close and personal >m .# ZZOUI » with Jackie the Jokeman, Page2A Page 12A (4 0 0 ^ 0 * ■ Z - * r ro* o z y u # 09. , / ,O * ui * w O 3 1 m a Z»4 o o niM . Z H ■' o ca UI Thursday, January 1 4, 1999 www.packctoniinc.com e o Cents Vol. 43, No. 2 School board to honor in search of g a m e p l a n By Bonnie Freestone Staff Writer By Steve Bates Federai bill . The Rev. Martin Luther King Staff Writer may reduce Jr. proved that moral authority can be effective for change — and that The school board will have a building costs. kind of power needs to be redi­ list of possible dates for the next 3A rected to current issues of equality, .school building referendum when the Rev. Francis Hubbard of St. it meets again Jan. 25. It is also re­ Barnabas Episcopal Church said. vising its 1999-2000 budget pro­ day’s meeting that the list would. As Martin Luther King Day posal to allow for expenses caused help the board decide what it's approaches, members of the South by the defeat of the .$20.5 million going to do .in response to the de^; Brunswick Area Clergy As.socia- building plan that went before the feat of the Dec. 15 referendum. ■ Other school board members: tion and the Concerned Black Par­ Staff photos by Andrea Kane voters in December. ents and Citizens of South Bruns­ The school board Facilities voiced their concerns about the de­ wick; are planning an interfaith Above, Rich Kim as Adler Sheridan, Andrew Parker as Dan Denton and Ben Schimmler as Jerry Delvin Committee will develop a list of feated referendum and suggested- what the next steps could'be. - ; service af the Kingston Presbyteri­ in a scene from the Pirandello Players’ production, “Guilty Guise”; below, the cast of “Guilty Guise.” possible dates on which the board an Church at 7 p.m. Sunday. The could present a new referendum to The referendum was defeated; celebration will feature speakers The play opens today (Thursday) at South Brunswick High School. voters and develop a timetable to by 184 votes. According to the- and participants from local congre­ go along with that li.st. township’s clerk’s office, 3.599.of gations, said the Rev. Hubbard, Board ^of Education President leader of the clergy group. Marci Abschutz suggested at Mon- See PLAN, Page 7A Four high school students will offer reflections on what the Rev. King means to them and how his philosophy affects their lives, tlie Rev. Hubbard said. The idea is to Turnpike trims make the ceremony contemporary and get the teen-agers involved. This year, those who attend will see the Rev. King on video, something the Rev. Hubbaid said impact of Rt. 92 he’s amazed has not been done be­ fore. In the past, speakers have re­ called the Rev. King’s role in his­ tory and have examined the impact on wetlands of his life on issues of the 1990s. Many in. the Christian commu­ nity are. still carrying the Rev. By Bonnie Freestone plan an “official use only” U-tum King’s torch — hoping faith, not Staff Writer and would reduce the width of the violence, can still work to trans­ grass median through the Devil’s form people, according to the Rev. The N.J. Turnpike Authority Brook forested wetlands area. The Hubbard. has revised its plan for Route 92 to change reduces the amount of wet­ lands, that will be affected from “W e’re now looking at the cut a narrower swathe through the challenges met in the past and try­ 18.4 acres to 14.4 acres. township’s southwestern comer. Ed Gross, executive director of ing to meet them eloquently and The plan, submitted Friday to vigorously,” he said. the Turnpike Authonty, stated that, the federal Army Corps of Engi­ although he believes the previous Faith played a crucial role in neers, will narrow the median of the Civil Rights movement, the A puzzle of a play design would be safer for travelers, the road slightly to reduce the limiting the impact on wetlands Rev. Hubbard said, although its amount of wetlands lost to the part was not fully appreciated. would iraiprove the chances for ap­ project by 4 acres. proval. “Today we’re looking at the The Army Corps is reviewing ideals of faith in the public arena,” SBHS players put on a ''Guilty Guise' The Turnpike Authority did the plans for the road, which will not address the EPA’s findings that he said. “All people were made in connect Route 1 and the N.J. Turn­ the image of God and deserve re­ By Steve Bates ris play “The Guilty Guise” today (Thursday), Fri­ other road projects make Route 92 day and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the school pike at Exit 8A, following a .deci­ unnecessaiy. The authority says spect — that goes all the. way Staff Writer sion by the federal Environmental down the line.” auditorium. the highway is the best approach to Protection Agency not, to issue solving regional traffic, woes and The law, too, should reflect The play centers around a rebus —,a puzzle that belief, he said. There’s a lot A puzzle-loving millionaire has been mur­ wetlands permits. The Army Corps getting traffic from Route 1 to the dered and those named in his will have been consisting of pictures of objects, signs or letters says it will not issue a decision un­ Turnpike. Mr. Gross said he ex- that still needs to be done to bring the combination of which suggest words or equal educational and economic brought together to solve his final riddle; They til the state Department of Envi­ peets the road to relieve local truck must solve the puzzle and find the murderer. phrases — which just happens to be,the last will ronmental Protection issues state- and car traffic congestion on local opportunity to all people, he said. and testament of Josiah Travers, a very wealthy Issues such as health insurance af­ And the butler definitely didn’t do it. level permits for the road, a roads and provide a regional solu­ The South Brunswick High School’s Pirandel­ 6.7-mile limped-access toll high­ tion. fect those who are often unable to See GUISE, Page 7A get ahead, including many single­ lo Players Drama Club will present the Monk Fer­ way. JimHaggerty,chiefoltheper- parent families. The Turnpike’s new design The U.S. always has been a would remove from the original See RT. 92, Page 7A pluralistic society, he said, and is now more diverse than ever, with an increa.se in immigration in re- See KING, Page 3A Manager looks back on 4 years of progress In d e x Capsules 9A By Bonnie Freestone Staff Writer ^Fm proud of the staff. Classified IB Donato Nieman said he remembers wad­ They're an excellent Editorial 6A ing through floodwaters that completely group of people. They covered Route 1, as the “Atlantic Ocean Obituaries 2A moved inland” during the Nor’caster of have the power to make 1996 — he had to help figure out how to get Police 3A South Brunswick out of that one. me look good or bad 12A And he remembers discussing with Pub­ and they've made me Sports lic Works Director Ray Olsen the problem of a virtual white-out during the historic look good.' . blizzard that same year, which the depart­ Donato Nieman ment was able to clear away in less than two days. It is these brushes with Mother Nature the new form of government and will and the skillful and proficient staff he has have a freer hand in day-to-day decision­ worked with over the past four years that he making than the aidministrator had under the will miss the most when he leaves his job as township committee government. the township’s top administrator this month. Mr. Nieman said his decision to leave Mr. Nieman, who served nearly four was not an easy one, but years as township the uncertainty that the change of gov-. Going shopping? administrator and has served as acting manage/ since the township changed to a emment has created forced him to seek out other options. The new Township Council Looking for a car? A house? council-manager government Jari. 1, will step down Jan. 25 to take a job as township has begun a search for a manager, and while A black Lab? A used dining he was interested in the job; there was no room set? Find it in our on­ administrator in Montgomery; Mayor Debra Johnson said the Township guarantee that he would be hired. The search line classifieds, at Council has not yet determined who will is expected to take several months. Staff photo by Bonnie Freestone www.packetonline.com/ “It was one of the most difficult deci- take over as acting township manager after Donato Nieman Is leaving after four years as the township’s top administrator to take the new/mplace Mr.