OCTOBER 2018 FREE
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
‘Director of Fun’
Moon sets on cherished Hopewell restaurant
As head pro at Springdale Golf Club, Keith Stewart takes pains to ensure that members enjoy themselves
Brothers Moon closing after nearly two decades on West Broad Street
By Joe eMansKi
jemanski@communitynews.org
A golfer is happy if a round of golf takes fewer than four hours. On Oct. 10, Keith Stewart will be shooting to get in 18 holes in about 75 minutes. And when he’s done, he’ll play another round. If all goes well, that will also take about an hour and a quarter. Then he will play another round. And another, and another — and he still won’t be done. For 10 years, the Hopewell resident has been the head golf professional at Springdale Golf Club. But on one day a year for the past 8 years, he and a few of others on his staff become what you might call marathon golfers. This year, Stewart and assistant pros Darren Bolton, Vince Ramagli and Robby Fenton will play 100 holes over about 6 and a half hours to raise money for two nonprofit organizations: Christine’s Hope For Kids (christineshope.org) and the New Jersey Golf Foundation’s Golf in Schools Program (njgolffoundation.org). In the first seven years, the pros raised more than $85,000 for the two groups. Sponsors often pledge $1 per hole and the pros set a goal of 100 sponsors See FUN, Page 10
By Joe eMansKi
jemanski@communitynews.org
Sonja Michaluk working on her invention, a device made from recycled parts that can be used for preser ving microorganisms found in streams until they can be identified. This preser vation is crucial to the success of stream monitoring programs.
Invention earns HoVal junior national environmental award Presidential honor enhances teen scientist’s already impressive resume By Joe eMansKi
jemanski@communitynews.org
At an age when many teens are taking courses to learn about ecology and biology, Sonja Michaluk is teaching them. At an age when many are just getting comfortable using highly technical devices needed
for field research, Michaluk is inventing them. The Hopewell Valley Central High School junior has developed curricula on herpetology (the study of amphibians) and macroinvertebrates (tiny creatures that live in streams) which she uses to teach kids (and adults) at environmental fairs. She has presented research to the Academy of Natural Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, among other places. She has been the young-
est member of the Society for Freshwater Science since she joined it in 2014. And Encyclopedia Britannica asked her to write the definition of the word “macroinvertebrate,” which they published in 2016. In a ceremony held in Washington in September, she received the President’s Environmental Youth Award, an honor the Department of Environmental Protection gives out to recognize outstanding environmental projects undertaken by students in grades K–12. It’s See MICHALUK, Page 6
Jack’s GREENHOUSE & FARM
Mums • Pansies • Perennials • Trees • Shrubs Come check out our Fall Specials! See Our Ad & Coupons On Page 7
Will Mooney had a goal in 2000: he wanted to open and own a restaurant in the town where he lived, and have that restaurant become a place where his young family could grow and become part of the fabric of a community. He remembers thinking: I’m just 15 years away from having a pretty good run. By that standard, Mooney and his wife and business partner, artist Beth Ann Judge, had more than a pretty good run. They had a great run—more than 17 years serving Hopewell Borough as a café, bakery, deli, caterer and sit-down restaurant—all three blocks away from their home. But all good things must come to an end, as it will for the Mooney family after dining room service is completed on Sept. 29. Mooney and Judge have sold the building to a developer, a neighbor, who Mooney says has told him he has plans to lease the space to a See MOON, Page 8
NOW OPEN IN PENNINGTON!
3 Tree Farm Rd. (Just off Rt. 31 in Pennington Point) Proud to be part of the Hopewell Valley community! See our ad on page 4
1179 NEWARK, NJ