Hamilton Post
OCTOBER 2019
Yaede charges tossed
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Thumbs up for the first day of school
By RoB Anthes ranthes@communitynews.org A municipal judge tossed a criminal case against Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede Sept. 20, dismissing disorderly person charges lodged by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office earlier in the month. Yaede and her campaign manager, Dan Scharfenberger, had been accused of disclosing the expunged arrest records of David Henderson, Yaede’s challenger in June’s Republican primary for mayor. Ewing Township municipal Judge Roger Haley made the decision to clear Yaede the morning of Sept. 20. Due to Haley’s decision, the charges against Scharfenberger also have been dismissed. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has accepted the result, and will not appeal, MCPO spokesperson Casey DeBlasio said. Yaede’s lawyer Robin Kay Lord wasted no time going on the offensive, sending a letter to county prosecutor Angelo Onofri just hours after Haley’s ruling. In the letter obtained by the Hamilton Post, Lord calls on Onofri to publicly apologize to Yaede, saying the Department of Justice has a long-standing policy of not filing charges against a politician close to an election out of fear of interfering with the electoral process. Yaede faces Democratic council president Jeff Martin in a race for mayor Tuesday, Nov. 5. Lord, in her letter, claimed the charges have “unleveled” See YAEDE, Page 11
2019 ELECTION COVERAGE STARTS ON PAGE 16
Mayor’s race takes spotlight as Election Day nears By RoB Anthes ranthes@communitynews.org
Crockett Middle School principal Roxann Clarke-Holmes, Savanna Parham, Angie Argueta-Estrada, Amelia Arif, Juliana Fresolone and Ashauni Banton give thumbs up before the first day of the new school year Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo courtesy of Laura Geltch, Hamilton Township School District.)
Walk among the stalks Local corn mazes let people get lost in fall fun By lois leVine Summer has faded fast from the rearview mirror, and with it comes fall and all its predictable signs: Pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, the crunch of dried brown leaves under our feet, and...corn mazes? Yes, corn mazes! One of the most popular family events of the season, a corn maze is simply a series of path-
ways cut through a corn field. Unlike a labyrinth, which only has one, non-branching path, and only one entry and exit point, there is more than one way to find the exit out of a maze. Here in New Jersey there are several farms that create corn mazes as a fall activity for the public: A. Casola Farms in Holmdel, Etsch Farms in Monroe and K & S Farms in East Windsor. Terhune Orchards in Lawrence has a seasonal corn maze as well. But one of the most well-known and well-visited corn mazes in Mercer County is at Howell Liv-
ing History Farm in Hopewell. “Mazes are historical,” said farm director Pete Watson, who has been with Howell for 35 years. “The earliest mazes were found on the tombs of Byzantine pyramids, and they were also built into the knaves of churches. The Hampton Court Maze in England was created in the 1600s. For a very long time, they have been fun puzzles that people like to create and solve.” It wasn’t until the early 1990s, however that someone came up with the idea of making a maze See CORN MAZES, Page 13
One month and counting. After a marathon campaign that has spanned half of 2019, Election Day is finally almost here. To get our readers ready for the polls, the Hamilton Post has compiled coverage of all the races voters will see on their ballots, including state assembly, county executive, county freeholder, Hamilton Township Board of Education, Hamilton Township council and mayor of Hamilton Township. You’re seeing this coverage a bit sooner than you have in the past. The Hamilton Post has always published its election coverage in our November issue, closer to Election Day. It moves to October this year, after reader feedback convinced us an earlier publication date would benefit those who vote by mail and turn in their ballots early. Election Day is Nov. 5 The campaign is already in full swing, particularly the race for Hamilton Township mayor between incumbent Kelly Yaede and challenger Jeff Martin. The Hamilton Post sat down with both candidates, holding an extensive conversation about the township, the campaign and the candidates themselves. The election coverage kicks off with the Martin and Yaede interviews on Page 16.
Ask The Doctor brought to you by
See our column on page 52
See our ad on pg 63
1179 NEWARK, NJ