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Growing business among top 2015 goals
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Mayor talks Grainger warehouse construction, shared services and more By leXie yearly Local business, townshipprovided services and growing the surplus were among the key goals Bordentown Township hopes to focus on this year, according to township Mayor Jim Cann. Cann began his term as mayor in January 2015, succeeding 2014 mayor Stephen Benowitz. It is the second time Cann will serve as mayor in Bordentown Township; his first term was in 2013. Looking forward to 2015, Cann said the township’s three main goals were really a continuation of efforts already begun in 2014. The first goal throughout 2014, Cann said, was reflected in the work Benowitz had started with the Economic Development Advisory Committee to put a strong focus on marketing the township and bringing in new business. One of the most noteworthy projects right now is the construction of the Grainger warehouse, which is set to partially open in the first quarter of 2016. “Once it’s up and running,” Cann said, “it’s going to bring quite a bit of tax relief, it’s going to bring jobs, not just to Bordentown Township, but to the See TOWNSHIP, Page 6
Ice chunks line the shores of Bordentown Beach Jan. 16, 2015. (Photo by Albert Rende.)
District No. 2 fire BRMS gets technical Hour of Code chief says farewell with Weeklong coding By leXie yearly
If there’s one thing William Hartman has learned from his nearly 40 years of fire and EMT service, it’s the value of life and how much he appreciates it. “It’s taught me the value of life, and the value of life is that it could be gone that quick,” Hartman said. “I’ve watched people die in cars that we’ve been cutting apart. Life is so important and it is so precious and so fragile. And it’s amazing how fast it can be taken away.” On Jan. 14, Hartman stepped
down from his role as chief of Bordentown Township Fire District No. 2, making him the last volunteer chief the department will see. The role will now be filled by Chief Robert MacFarland, who was promoted Jan. 14 from his previous position as captain. The structure of having a volunteer fire chief overseeing career firemen is a bit of a unique situation, Hartman said, but one that he’s found to be a positive experience. He attributed his experience See CHIEF, Page 8
activities win school $10K of technology By Stacey PaStorella
The oversized check, awarded to Bordentown Regional Middle School in the amount of $10,000, represents just one way that the school’s participation in the Hour of Code initiative has positively impacted its students. The Hour of Code, sponsored by the nonprofit organization
Code.org, challenges students across the country to participate in at least one hour of activities that focus on computer science and concepts related to coding. For the Hour of Code, Amy Wright, who teaches computer education at Bordentown Regional Middle School, planned a weeklong program Dec. 8–12 that included the entire student population. All classes participated in an offline project, where they redrew patterns by using simple codes to follow the necessary steps. See CODE, Page 10
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