Current Bordentown
NOVEMBER 2019 FREE
Your vote at risk
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Mixed-use housing set for Park Street
Girls’ day out
Many New Jersey voting machines are stuck in the past By ROB ANThes
In 2004, Hopewell resident Stephanie Harris went to her polling place for the presidential primary, never expecting what was about to happen would alter her life and the public discourse around voter security for the next decade and a half. When Harris entered the privacy booth that day, she saw one of Mercer County’s then-new touchscreen voting machines facing her, a model called the Sequoia AVC Advantage. She found her candidate of choice on the large paper ballot overlay, pressed the box next to the candidate’s name and then hit a large button at the bottom right of the machine to cast her vote. Typically, at this point, the AVC Advantage will make a noise to indicate a vote has been counted. For Harris, nothing happened. Harris exited the privacy booth slightly confused. A poll worker stopped her, and said her vote didn’t register and that she should try again. Harris did, four times with the same results. After the fi fth time, the poll worker shrugged, and said, “Well, I think it worked.” Harris never received definitive confirmation her vote had been cast. To this day, she doesn’t know whether the machine recorded her vote. Harris couldn’t shake the feeling that her vote had been taken away. She asked the county for confirmation or at least an explanation. She didn’t get answers, but she did earn a new nickname, courtesy of a county freeholder— “the Incident in Hopewell.” See VOTING, Page 10
Ocean Spray plant to be redeveloped By sAMANThA sciARROTTA
Sisters Emily and Callie Houseworth smile at the Bordentown Cranberr y Festival in Bordentown City Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. For more photos, turn to Page 14. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
Harnessing her power
Bordentown grad trains harness horses By Rich FisheR
Miriam Kraemer has crammed a lot of living into 27 years but she seems to have finally found the life she wants to lead. A horse lover since the time she opened her eyes, the 2011 Bordentown Regional High School graduate has become a harness racing trainer for the United States Trotting Association and, in late September, earned her first two professional training victories at Free-
hold Raceway. “It’s going for me now,” Kraemer said. “I’m trying to get all the loose ends together. I own half of two horses and would like to buy one or two more if possible. I don’t have a bank load of money but we’re getting there.” How she got there is a story of tenaciousness, perseverance and good ol’ fashion hard work. In harness racing, a strong race is referred to as a “good trip.” Kraemer’s quest can safely be termed an interesting trip, but also a good one the way it has worked out. She was born in Sweden to Dave and Malin Kraemer, who were both in the harness racing
business. They moved to the U.S. when Miriam was 2 and set up shop at The Meadowlands, which is the U.S. mecca for the sport. The Kraemers didn’t just work there, they lived there. That’s where it gets interesting. “I was smuggled into a tack room at the Meadowlands for a couple years,” Kraemer said. “My parents were stabled right at the track. I had me a daytime babysitter and everything.” The catch was, infants were not actually allowed to live in a tack room, and yet Malin noted, “we had two— a living room and a kitchen.” The parents were tipped off about room See KRAEMER, Page 8
Plans to redevelop Bordentown City’s Ocean Spray plant site are in motion, nearly five years after the property was first sold. The plant, which closed in August 2014, was purchased by Modern Recycled Spaces later that year. Plans only have started to move forward over the last six months, however, said mayor Jim Lynch. The project is proposed to include 296 loft-style apartments, creative spaces and commercial tenants, including plans for a brewpub or restaurant. Some of the existing structures will be demolished. Early discussions, Lynch said, focused on what form the development should take: commercial, residential or a mix of both. City commissioners and the developer ultimately agreed on a mixed-use facility. “They have a good vision,” Lynch said. “They took inspiration from the old Ocean Spray plant, and they’re trying to replicate it, trying to marry that history right into the new building. That’s what they specialize in—restoring what you have and enhancing it.” The proposed number of residential units has fluctuated over the last year, starting as low as 150 before settling at 296. They will consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, See OCEAN SPRAY, Page 7
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