JULY 2019 FREE
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Hail to the chief
Open mic gives kids a time to shine
Tracey McKeown is Mercer County Prosecutor’s first ever female head of detectives
By Joe eMansKi
jemanski@communitynews.org
Mary McIntyre knows something about performing on stage. Now the music director of Hopewell United Methodist Church, she was part of a nationally touring Christmas show called Wizards of Winter for six years. She also knows firsthand the difficulties that many talented people have convincing themselves to give performing a try. “When I was young, I suffered from stage fright that held me back as a singer,” she says. The church already hosted a monthly open mic night the first Friday of every month, run by church member Paul Bejgrowicz. But McIntyre wondered: why not an open mic specially for kids? So in May, she started up a monthly kids open mic for the third Sunday of each month. The first one attracted more than 30 kids from around the area. “I feel strongly about encouraging kids to share their creativity, and showing them techniques to overcome the fears that have prevented many of us adults from pursuing our dreams,” she says. The second session fell on Father’s Day, so turnout wasn’t as good. But a number of kids and their parents still did show up, suggesting that McIntyre is really on to something. See OPEN MIC, Page 7
By JULia MaRnin
Sara Cooper, seated, and Jodi O’Donnell-Ames in Cooper’s Titusville home. Cooper, who has ALS, received the inaugural Impact Award from the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce on June 20. (Photo by Benoit Cortet.)
Sara Cooper takes on ALS Diagnosed with the disease, Cooper Creative Group founder is making it her ‘new client’ By JULia MaRnin Multitalented Sara Cooper has been a commercial real estate lender, an event planner and a marketing guru in her professional career. The founder of Cooper Creative Group has even mastered the culinary arts. In recent times, however, she has found herself grieving over the loss of who she used to be.
“I loved to entertain and set an exquisite table. I am a trained chef, and now I can’t lift a plate,” she says. Cooper’s muscles are wasting away. In November, she was diagnosed with ALS, the progressive neurodegenerative disease. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Over time, patients lose the ability to move, breathe or swallow. There is no cure. “Your body gets tired at the end of the day. You’re tired because you’re trying to do the things you used to, but you can’t,” she says. Yet Cooper, 56, is determined to make a difference. She views her diagnosis as an opportunity
to spread awareness for ALS. She wants to develop a guide for people who are newly diagnosed with the disease, a map to help them navigate ALS’ many and confusing roads. “There is a lot of information out there, and my hope is that I stay well enough to create a resource for newly diagnosed people to use,” the Titusville resident says. In recognition of her many years of service in the community as a marketing consultant, as well as her bravery in the face of a difficult diagnosis, she received the 2019 Impact Award at the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Women of AchieveSee COOPER, Page 8
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Tracey McKeown would have never dreamed of working for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s office for the past 29 years when she graduated from Curry College with a business degree. Now, the woman who had never planned on a career in law enforcement has become the first female chief of detectives in the county’s history after being promoted on May 1. McKeown has worked her way up the ladder in a career that began in 1990. She has worked in the Economic Crimes, Child Abuse and Sexual Assault, and Grand Jury units. She has been supervisor of 10 units: Grand Jury, Juvenile, Arson, Special Victims, Domestic Violence, Megan’s Law, Cyber Crimes, Trial, Evidence, Identification, and Internal Affairs. She has also served as co-coordinator of the Child Abduction Response Team. “It’s been very rewarding. Obviously I’ve come much further than I ever thought I would come in this field,” McKeown says. “Coming in as a business major, not knowing anything on criminal justice, I’ve learned a lot.” As chief of detectives, she oversees the 65 detectives See McKEOWN, Page 10
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