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Fried delivers final State of the Township speech By Bill Sanservino
Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried gave his final State of the Township address on Oct. 14 , marking the end of a long career in public service with reflections on his tenure and praise for his staff. He also delivered an emotional tribute to a local family that exemplifies the spirit of his “Pay It Forward” initiative. The annual event, held at The Stone Terrace by John Henry’s, drew a full house of 285 residents, business leaders, township staff and well-wishers. Fried opened the speech by quoting the Grateful Dead: “What a long, strange trip it’s been,” adding, “Not to mention a rewarding one.” This year’s Pay It Forward award was presented to the Papp/Walls family of Robbinsville, which has faced immense personal loss over the last two years. Lisa Papp and her husband, Tom Walls, are in the process of obtaining legal guardianship of four nieces and nephews following the deaths of both parents. The children’s father, U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Tear, died of complications from lung cancer in 2023 following exposure to toxic burn pits while serving in the Middle East. Alicia
Tear, the children’s mother and Tom’s sister, passed away suddenly in 2024. Sweetwater Construction Corp. and its CEO, longtime Township Council President Ron Witt, joined the township effort in renovating the family’s basement to help create more living space to accommodate the four young children. Sweetwater, Bohren’s Moving & Storage and the Rotary Club of Robbinsville-Hamilton were this year’s Pay It Forward Community Partner Award recipients. Longtime event emcee Jeannine Cimino, regional vice president of Mid Penn Bank and the first Pay It Forward Award winner, kept the evening flowing following a moving pre-meal invocation from Lifetree Community Church Pastor Dan Greco. Mid Penn Bank and BAPS were this year’s platinum sponsors. “This incredibly resilient family is moving mountains to give their nieces and nephews an opportunity to flourish after the unimaginable trauma of losing both parents in the span of one year,” Fried said. “They need our support — financial, emotional, compassionate and kind — all things See FREID, Page 4
The Robbinsville High School girls tennis team wrapped up a resilient 2025 season, overcoming injuries to key players and finishing with a 10-5 record. The Ravens were led by senior captain Nishika Singhal and sophomore standouts Penelope Bukharovich and Diya Thackalapatti. (Photo by Lily Feigenbaum.)
Resilient Ravens overcome injuries for 10-win season By RiCH FisHer
When discussing this fall’s Robbinsville High girls’ tennis team with coach Shari Schleifman, try and guess what word best describes the Ravens. “I’m very impressed with the girls,” the veteran coach said. “They’ve been very resilient, absolutely.” Then ask her about first singles Penelope Bukharovich, who had to step in for injured No. 1 singles Janvi Kothagundla.
“Penny is really resilient,” Schleifman said. “You could really describe our whole team that way.” Then conclude by asking her overall thoughts on the 2025 team. “I’m very proud of this group,” she said. “Resilience is the word.” And just why was this group considered so resilient? It had to do with key injuries that led to players having to move up to higher flights. And what could have been a lost season was quite otherwise. Robbinsville
grinded out a 10-5 regular-season record prior to the Oct. 21-23 Colonial Valley Conference Tournament. Three of the losses were by 3-2 scores, including to Hopewell Valley in the state tournament. Robbinsville did that with six sophomores in the starting lineup. “It was definitely different but our team usually pulls through and keeps things stable even though we have these new challenges,” said senior Nishika Singhal, who started the year at first See TENNIS, Page 14
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