10-20 BC

Current Bordentown

OCTOBER 2020 FREE

COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG

Board of Ed, local races set for Nov. 3

Kevin Johnson sues township

All candidates running unopposed

Developer alleges racial discrimination, intentional road blocks

By SAM SciArrOTTA

Election Day will be relatively calm in the Bordentown region.

Though there are three local races on the docket, none are contested.

There are three open seats on the Bordentown Regional Board of Education: one Bordentown Township seat, one Bordentown City seat and on Fieldsboro seat. Current school board president Eileen FranciscoCabus and member Janet Nielsen are running for the township and city seats, respectively.

Newcomer Joseph A. Dean is up for the Fieldsboro position.

Two candidates are also up for two spots on the township committee: incumbent James Kostoplis and Aneka Miller. Miller currently ser ves on the board of education.

Finally, there are two open seats on Fieldsboro Council. Running are incumbents Charlene Lewis and Jonathan Norcross.

The Bordentown Current sent each candidate a questionnaire about their campaigns and plans for their terms. Kostoplis, Lewis and Norcross did not respond to requests for comment.

Responses from participating candidates can be found on Page 14.

By SAM SciArrOTTA

Bonnie Goldman, dressed as Clara Barton, is leading the charge to replace the roof on and renovate the Clara Barton Schoolhouse in Bordentown City.

Raising the roof for Clara Group aims to restore historic schoolhouse

By SAM SciArrOTTA

If you’ve driven down Crosswicks Street recently, you might have noticed the sprawling banner outside the Clara Barton Schoolhouse. Or the massive blue tarp that has covered the structure’s roof for the last several months.

That’s all part of the Bordentown Historical Society’s plan to save the tiny schoolhouse.

The group filmed a video outlining the building’s needs—a new roof, an HVAC system, WiFi, new fencing—

last November and planned to start its fundraising pitch in March. But, as with most businesses and organizations, the pandemic upended their operations and changed their timeline.

“All hell broke loose with COVID and we felt like we couldn’t be asking people for money,” said Bordentown Historical Society trustee Bonnie Goldman. “Everything was scary and horrible. We didn’t do anything for awhile.”

That’s where the tarp came in—the eight holes in the schoolhouse’s roof needed to be covered somehow until full repairs were able to be made. It turns out that kind of kickstarted the society’s

revamped campaign.

Raise the Roof for Clara aims to restore and preserve the schoolhouse, where Clara Barton taught children in 1852. Repairs include a new roof, HVAC, technological upgrades and lighting. The group also hopes to replace the rotted fencing outside of the building.

Goldman uses the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Museum in Washington, D.C. as inspiration. The museum screens a short video about Barton right when guests enter the building, and Goldman hopes to establish something similar for the Bordentown City structure.

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Kevin Johnson, the Black real estate developer behind Team85 Fitness and Wellness, filed a lawsuit against Bordentown Township and five current and former municipal officials Sept. 9, citing racial discrimination. The suit, first published by the New Jersey Law Journal, claims Johnson has been “locked in a neverending battle to develop his property on reasonable terms” for the last several years.

Johnson is suing the township, plus former township clerk and co-administrator Colleen Eckert, former interim township administrator George Haeuber, former township CFO and co-administrator David Kocian, current township administrator Michael Theokas and former police chief and co-administrator Frank Nucera.

Nucera was arrested and charged in November 2017 with committing a hate crime and violating a man’s civil rights by using excessive force during an arrest.

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2  Bordentown Current | October 2020

Your vote counts SAM SCIARROTTA FROM THE EDITOR

try are denied their right to vote due to draconian disenfranchisement laws, why bother?

Consider this, though: Kentucky voters elected state attorney general Daniel Cameron, and they have a chance to vote him out when his term is up. This is why voting at the municipal, county and state level, as well as in congressional races, can have a greater impact on your everyday life than electing a president. Even Bordentown’s congressman, Andy Kim, faces a close race this year.

You’ll see a lot of election coverage in this issue of the paper. All of our local races are uncontested, but your vote is still important. It still counts.

And we still want you to know who is running and on what platform. Don’t like that candidates are running unopposed? Maybe in the next term’s election, you can advocate for more candidates to run, or even put yourself up for election.

Voting might feel unimportant, but it’s not. It’s how change happens, even if at a glacial pace. Especially at the local level. Ultimately, we get to decide who advocates for us, and that’s not something we should take for granted.

There are times when voting feels futile. Sometimes it can feel like dumping out a bottle of water on a forest fire, or like a faceoff between an Imperial star destroyer and a single x-wing. The problems with our government at all levels often feel too massive to deal with. I think one of those times is now.

Millions across the country have spent the last 100 or so days demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, who was killed by three police officers— Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankinson and Jonathan Mattingly—in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment March 13.

When the grand jury indictment was laid down Sept. 23, Hankinson was the only officer charged, and his charges had little to do with Taylor— he was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots that entered a neighboring apartment.

How could voting possibly solve any of this? Sometimes I feel like participating in a system that props up its most powerful and oppresses its most vulnerable is pointless. When our neighbors are being shot in their Contact SAM SCIARROTTA: ssciarrotta@ homes by those meant to protect all communitynews.org, (609) 396-1511, ext. of us, or when residents of this coun- 121, facebook.com/samsciarrotta1

Current Bordentown

We are a newsroom of your neighbors. The Current is for local people, by local people. As part of the community, the Bordentown Current does more than just report the news—it connects businesses with their customers, organizations with their members and neighbors with one another. As such, our staff sets out to make our town a closer place by giving readers a reliable source to turn to when they want to know what’s going on in their neighborhood.

EDITOR Samantha Sciarrotta (Ext. 121) CONTRIBUTING WRITER Michele Alperin CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST Doug Kiovsky SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jennifer Steffen (Ext. 113) AD LAYOUT AND PRODUCTION Stacey Micallef (Ext. 131)

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BORDENTOWN Home for Funerals

SCHOOL continued from Page 1 “There’s no way that we can show a video now,” she said. “We want to make some technical improvements to make it more like a museum. It would be more beneficial to students and visitors who come to see it.”

The building currently has two stories but no stairs, so the only way to access the top floor—and the heading controls that are up there—is to climb a ladder. Goldman, who portrays Clara Barton for storytelling events and other historical presentations at the schoolhouse and around town, said she’d have to climb the ladder in her Victorian hoop skirt if she needed to adjust the temperature. A new HVAC system would make the controls more accessible.

Goldman also remembers a nighttime event she hosted at the schoolhouse for a Girl Scout troop. The building has no lighting, so they had to conduct the tour by candlelight—appropriate for the original era but, ultimately, impractical.

The Bordentown Historical Society hopes to raise $50,000 for the project. They’re currently working with a historical architect, Margaret Westfield, to create a preservation plan so they know what to prioritize. Goldman said they’ll have a better idea of exactly what needs to be done and how much it will cost once Westfield completes her review.

“I know how important it is to have people who know why things were built that way and why we need to restore them,” Goldman said.

“We can’t be shooting from the hip with this. We need the guidance of a professional.”

The schoolhouse is believed to date back to the 1700s, based on Westfield’s analysis of elements like the building’s nails and roofing. It originally stood at Farnsworth Avenue and West Street, not too far from its current home at Crosswicks and Burlington streets. Clara Barton taught at the building in 1852.

“After she taught there, she convinced the equivalent of a school board back then that they needed to build a bigger public schoolhouse,” Goldman said. “It was the first in the state.

She volunteered to teach for nothing because she believed so much in public education. When she came to Bordentown and saw kids standing idly on the sidewalk, she knew they were there because their parents couldn’t afford to send them to school.”

The new school, where Clara Barton Elementary School stands today, was completed in 1854.

“But because the community had a new two-story building, the little original went to wreck and ruin,” Goldman said.

About 70 years later, a local educator named Minnie Flynn recognized the historical importance of the struc-

ture and wanted to help preserve it.

She started a campaign to raise money for the restoration, not unlike the Bordentown Historical Society. She asked every student in New Jersey to donate a penny to the cause and ended up raising $3,700. The revamped building was dedicated by the governor in 1921.

But it’s been largely untouched since then.

“What it looks like now, on the inside, particularly, is the way it was restored 100 years ago,” Goldman said.

As with Flynn’s campaign in the 1900s, the community has been supportive of the society’s efforts. One nine-year-old resident used her birthday to host a lemonade stand and raise money for the project. She recruited some friends over the summer, and they got to selling. The “lemonade brigade,” as Goldman calls them,” presented the society with a check for $920.

The girls were rewarded with a socially distanced and masked private tour of the schoolhouse. Goldman hosted the tour as Barton. Each girl also received a Clara Barton stamp, originally issued by the United States Post Office in 1948, and a children’s book about Barton.

C.J. Mugavero, owner of the Artful Deposit gallery in Bordentown City, is donating a portion of the proceeds from each painting she sells that depicts a roof back to the project.

Other local businesses are running similar efforts.

This has all been a huge help to the group, Goldman said, especially as all of the society’s biggest fundraisers—fall house tours, summer garden tours, peach and blueberry themed socials—were cancelled due to COVID-19.

“We’re a small nonprofit with a limited number of volunteers,” Goldman said. “There’s only so much we can do. The community support has been very uplifting.”

Goldman said the society had plans to celebrate Clara Barton’s 200th birthday in 2021 with events at the restored building, but those are also on hold, for now.

“I just think that we’re so lucky in Bordentown City that someone who was such an amazing American icon visited us and made her mark on New Jersey with this desire to institute the public school,” she said. “It’s really not just a local landmark, it’s statewide, it’s national. It’s definitely something that everyone in the state should be able to participate in.”

For more information or to donate to the Raise the Roof for Clara campaign, visit bordentownhistory.org.

‘It’s really not just a local landmark. It’s statewide. It’s national.’

–Bonnie Goldman

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October 2020 | Bordentown Current5

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6  Bordentown Current | October 2020

HEALTH

OCTOBER 2020

@capitalhealthnj

HEADLINES

B I - M O N T H LY N E W S F R O M C A P I TA L H E A LT H

CAPITAL HEALTH BECOMES REGION’S

FIRST CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN ROBOTIC SURGERY Capital Health confirms its role as a nationally recognized health care leader with world-class expertise and advanced technology.

In August, Capital Health Medical Center- Hopewell was designated a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery”by Surgical Review Corporation (SRC). The Center of Excellence accreditation distinguishes Capital Health as having met rigorous, internationally recognized standards in providing the safest, highest quality of care and surgical capabilities.

“Capital Health’s designation as a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery affirms our commitment of providing patients along the Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York corridor with access to the most advanced medical technologies, expert physicians, and world-class, patient care close to home,” said DR. CATALDO DORIA, medical director of the Capital Health Cancer Center and physician director of the Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery.

Robotic-assisted surgery — sometimes referred to as highprecision surgery — may be an option to traditional surgery.

Considered minimally invasive, robotic-assisted surgery is known for its many benefits including smaller incisions, lower risk of infection, less pain, and faster recoveries. It can be used to as a treatment for many cancers, including colon, gynecologic, head and neck, liver, lung, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.

Under the direction of Dr. Doria, expertise within the hospital’s robotic surgery program has grown dramatically. In 2019, Capital Health’s surgeons performed more than 550 robotic surgery

cases, making it the leading hospital in the country for single robot cases. The surgical team has also expanded to include surgeons with highly specialized expertise including: … ASHLEE GODSHALK RUGGLES, MD, colorectal surgeon … ERIC MAYER, MD, director, Urologic Robotic Surgery, Capital Health – Urology Specialists … JOYCE VARUGHESE, MD, FACOG, medical director, Gynecologic Oncology … AFRICA F. WALLACE, MD, director, Thoracic Surgery As part of Capital Health’s commitment to provide the highest level of quality care and expertise, it recently invested in a dual console for its da Vinci® surgical platform to provide for a wider range of surgeries and its growing roster of surgeons with minimally invasive surgical experience. The dual console also enables a second surgeon to assist in surgeries and serves as a conduit for future surgical training.

To learn more Capital Health’s Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery, please visit capitalhealth.org.

Health Headlines by Capital Health | Bordentown Current7

CAPITAL HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP ADDS THREE FELLOWSHIP TRAINED RHEUMATOLOGISTS TO SPECIALTY PRACTICE Capital Health Medical Group recently welcomed DRS. WILLIAM TORELLI, SEHRIS KHAWAJA, and RISHI PATEL, fellowship trained rheumatologists, to its Capital Health – Rheumatology Specialists practice. With this expansion, Capital Health continues to meet an important need for diagnosing and treating autoimmune conditions and diseases that affect the joints, muscles and bones that cause pain, swelling, stiffness, and deformity.

William Torelli, DO

The new providers join Dr. Sajina Prabhakaran in the medical office building at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell, located at Two Capital Way, Suite 550, Pennington, New Jersey 08534. New offices will also open soon in Newtown, Pennsylvania and Bordentown, New Jersey.

“Rheumatology is a very complex area of specialization, and we’re pleased to have Dr. Khawaja, Dr. Patel and Dr. Torelli join our team,” said Dr. Joshua Eisenberg, chief medical officer of the Capital Health Medical Group. “Their training and experience add great depth to the services that are available at Capital Health – Rheumatology Specialists, and we’re pleased to offer the residents of our community a growing team of specialists to accurately diagnose these complicated conditions and develop personalized treatment plans that are carefully coordinated with referring physicians.”

DR. TORELLI received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and completed his internal medicine residency at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania. He was fellowship trained in rheumatology, including training in musculoskeletal ultrasound, at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Dr. Torelli is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Osteopathic Association.

DR. PATEL received his medical degree at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and completed his internal medicine residency at Cooper University Hospital/Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey. He completed his rheumatology fellowship at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center, part of Northwell Health/Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University in Great Neck, New York.

Fluent in English and Gujarati (and conversant in Hindi and Spanish), Dr. Patel is a member of the American College of Rheumatology and the American College of Physicians.

8Bordentown Current | Health Headlines by Capital Health

Rishi Patel, MD

Sehris Khawaja, DO

DR. KHAWAJA received her medical degree at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was fellowship trained in rheumatology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., during which time she also provided care for patients at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Khawaja is a member of the American College of Rheumatology, American College of Physicians, and the Association of Women in Rheumatology.

Appointments with Dr. William Torelli, Dr. Sehris Khawaja, and Dr. Rishi Patel can be scheduled by calling 609.303.4360. For more information, visit capitalrheumatology.org.

The team at Capital Health – Rheumatology Specialists treats conditions that include (but are not limited to) rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudogout, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, psoriatic arthritis, enteropathic arthritis, lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, vasculitis, and scleroderma. With cutting-edge testing and imaging technology conveniently available under one roof at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell, the rheumatology team provides diagnoses and care plans tailored to each patient, which can include medication such as steroids, disease modifying agents, or biologics (genetically-engineered from human genes).

Other treatment options may include therapeutic ultrasound-guided joint aspirations and injections offered on an outpatient basis to help relieve pain and pressure. Through prescriptions and careful monitoring, the team at Capital Health – Rheumatology Specialists works with patients to reduce immune responsiveness, control the symptoms of their disease, and help prevent potential long-term complications.

Capital Health – Rheumatology Specialists is part of the larger Capital Health Medical Group, an extensive network of care with more than 400 primary and specialty care providers across three counties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit capitalmedicalgroup.org.

Capital Health Earns

NATIONAL LGBTQ HEALTH CARE EQUALITY LEADER DESIGNATION Capital Health has earned designation as an LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader in the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) 2020 survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. HEI is the national LGBTQ benchmarking tool that evaluates health care facilities’ policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) patients, visitors and employees. To earn this designation, Capital Health received an overall survey score of 100.

“Capital Health’s designation as an LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader affirms our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the care we deliver to our patients,

our relationship with the communities we serve and the support we provide for our employees,” said DR. ERIC I. SCHWARTZ, vice president of Community Health and Transformation and executive director of Capital Health’s Institute for Urban Care.

“We believe our diversity is our strength, and programs like our Pride Initiative help ensure that we provide a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, including our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees, patients and visitors.”

Every year, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation recognizes the health care facilities that participate in the HEI survey for their dedication and commitment to LGBTQ inclusion. Of the 765 health care facilities that participated in the 2020 survey, Capital Health was one of 495 to earn top honors as an LGBTQ Health Care

Keeping It Real With VIRTUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR EXPECTING PARENTS In the best of times, preparing for the birth of a child can be a time of joy and anxiety. In the midst of a pandemic, the experience may seem overwhelming. To safely provide guidance and instruction during these uncertain times, Capital Health now offers virtual childbirth and parenting education programs on the popular Zoom platform.

“Capital Health is an established health care leader with a long history of helping families get off to healthy starts in Mercer, Burlington, and Bucks counties,” said Meredith Coronato, coordinator of Capital Health’s Childbirth and Parent Education Program. “The health and well-being of our community is always our top priority, so we’re taking our childbirth and parent education programs online in response to the COVID-19 crisis to make sure expecting parents safely get the information they need to keep their growing families on the road to good health.”

Capital Health’s Childbirth and Parent Education Program offers a range of classes to help prepare expecting mothers and partners to be the best parents possible by teaching them about the process of birth, how to care for their infants, and how to access sources of support following the birth of their babies. Classes are taught by experienced, certified childbirth educators and board certified lactation consultants using the remote Zoom format.

For a complete listing of program offerings, or to register for a class, visit capitalhealth.org/childbirth.

Equality Leader designation. Capital Health upholds a model of equality and respect for the LGBTQ community by providing a welcoming environment for LGBTQ clients, consumers, patients and staff; offering training opportunities to all employees to better serve the LGBTQ community; and implementing the Pride Initiative to demonstrate its commitment to inclusion to the community at large.

To learn more about Capital Health’s commitment to providing equitable health care to all patients regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race or religion, visit capitalhealth.org/pride.

UPCOMING VIRTUAL CHILDBIRTH AND PARENTING EDUCATION PROGRAMS BABY CARE BASICS VIRTUAL CLASS October 13, 2020 at 6 p.m.

November 10, 2020 at 6 p.m.

November 24, 2020 at 6 p.m.

December 8, 2020 at 6 p.m.

December 22, 2020 at 6 p.m.

Taught by an experienced, certified childbirth and parent educator, this class helps prepare first-time expectant parents to care for their newborn.

ASK THE LACTATION CONSULTANT AND CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR Second Thursday of the Month at 2 p.m.

An opportunity for expectant parents to ask any questions they have about their upcoming birth experience at Capital Health.

UNDERSTANDING BIRTH ONE-DAY CONDENSED PREPARED VIRTUAL CHILDBIRTH CLASS October 10, 2020 at 9 a.m.

October 24, 2020 at 9 a.m.

November 7, 2020 at 9 a.m.

November 21, 2020 at 9 a.m.

December 5, 2020 at 9 a.m.

December 19, 2020 at 9 a.m.

Class is taught by an experienced, certified childbirth educator, this is an intensive day to prepare the expectant woman and her labor support person for the birth experience.

VIRTUAL NEW PARENT SUPPORT GROUP Mondays at 1 p.m.

The free support group for new parents with babies under one year old is facilitated by a board certified lactation consultant from Capital Health’s Lactation Center.

VIRTUAL PREPARED CHILDBIRTH 4-WEEK SERIES Beginning October 6, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

Beginning November 6, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

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Health Headlines by Capital Health | Bordentown Current9

Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists is now scheduling appointments in Bordentown (1 Third Street), but will eventually move to the new, state-of-the-art Capital Health – Bordentown facility (pictured above). Appointments are also available in Hamilton.

NEW OFFICE IN BORDENTOWN FOR CAPITAL HEALTH

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SPECIALISTS Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists, part of Capital Health Medical Group, is now scheduling appointments at a new office location at 1 Third Street, Bordentown, New Jersey 08505 (just off Park Street). Current and new patients can now see DRS. CHRISTI WESTON and ARVIND BHASKER, as well as licensed clinical social workers KRISTIN CARDONA-COCCIA and CHELSEA HOAGLAND, at the new secondary location. The phone number is 609.689.5725 and office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“During these unprecedented times, many people are facing a variety of mental health challenges,” said Dr. Christi Weston, medical director of Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists.

“We’re happy to expand our presence in Burlington County and make access to this important area of specialization more convenient to those who need it most in that part of Capital Health’s service area.”

As part of Capital Health’s expansion into Burlington County, construction of its multi-specialty Capital Health – Bordentown facility is nearing completion. Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists will eventually relocate to this new, state-of-the art building, which is currently home to Capital Health Primary Care – Bordentown and specialists from Rothman Orthopaedic Institute.

According to the National Institutes for Health, more than 44 million adults in the United States are living with a mental health issue, yet less than half of them receive treatment. Addressing the need for behavioral health services in our community, the team at Capital Health Behavioral Health Specialists provides compassionate psychiatric care and counseling services in a warm, calming environment. The team of highly skilled psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and advanced practice clinicians use innovative treatment modalities to help people overcome obstacles and lead healthier, happier lives. They diagnose and treat a broad range of behavioral health conditions and offer a variety of psychotherapy groups that provide safe, comfortable and non-judgmental spaces to help people connect with others who share similar struggles and together learn skills to improve their lives.

To schedule an appointment with a Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists provider at their Hamilton or Bordentown locations, call 609.689.5725 or visit capitalhealth.org/behavioralhealth for more information.

10Bordentown Current | Health Headlines by Capital Health

Therapy for Adults Experiencing Depression SHIFT: Group Thursdays | 2 p.m. | Location: Zoom Meetings* Facilitator: Kristen Cardona – Coccia *You will receive Zoom meeting details after registration is complete.

SHIFT will teach you new, healthier ways of thinking, feeling and behaving while you gain new perspectives on how to manage your depression.

Group therapy provides benefits that individual therapy may not. Psychologists say, in fact, that group members are almost always surprised by how rewarding the group experience can be. Groups can act as a support network and a sounding board. Other members of the group often help you come up with specific ideas for improving a difficult situation or life challenge, and hold you accountable along the way.

Regularly talking and listening to others also helps you put your own problems in perspective. Oftentimes, you may feel like you are the only one struggling — but you’re not.

It can be a relief to hear others discuss what they’re going through and realize you’re not alone. … Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day SYMPTOMS … Feelings of worthlessness or guilt of DEPRESSION almost every day may include: … Impaired concentration, indecisiveness … Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day … Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day (called anhedonia, this symptom can be indicated by reports from significant others) … Restlessness or feeling slowed down … Recurring thoughts of death or suicide … Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5 percent of body weight in a month) The time to SHIFT to a healthier, happier you is now.

To sign up, call Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists at 609.689.5725. This group therapy program will be billed to your health insurance.

JOHNSON continued from Page 1 earlier that year while under FBI investigation.

Bordentown Township Police Department officers recorded the former chief making racist comments, including comparing black people to ISIS, using racial slurs and claiming to use police dogs with the intent to intimidate. The suit claims that Nucera’s racist beliefs, coupled with his influence in the township, led to Johnson being targeted.

In the suit, Johnson accuses the township of intentionally delaying project approvals, violating signed agreements, intentional exclusion from development discussions and making accommodations for white developers and not Johnson during the same approval periods. The suit also claims that Johnson was held to tighter restrictions than his peers, specifically with affordable housing requirements.

“While other sites only required 10-15% of the units to be affordable, Mr. Johnson was forced to include 25% affordable units, which had the consequence of making the project almost unaffordable to build,” the suit says.

All of this, according to the suit, was predicated on Johnson’s race.

The suit calls Nucera and Eckert “irredeemable racists,” alleging the two referred to Johnson using a racial slur. It also claims that Nucera pressured officers to avoid using Team85 gym services.

Eckert told FBI agents in a March 2017 interview regarding the initial Nucera investigation that she and the former chief, who she called “a mentor” to her, used racial slurs together, including the n-word. In the interview, Eckert specifically referenced a “local real estate developer”—the name, along with other identifying characteristics, was redacted.

“Eckert recalled an occasion when [redacted] came into the township building after hours. Eckert stated, ‘We’d (Eckert and Chief Nucera) be like, oh, that n-g,’ in response to seeing [redacted],” according to the documents. Nucera also felt that that developer, who Eckert called “shady,” was “working an angle.”

Because of this, Johnson’s suit says that “the disparate treatment received by a developer trying to vastly improve the amenities available to the residents of the township must, at least in part, be attributed to Nucera’s and Eckert’s now-known racial animus.”

The suit alleges that township officials used racial slurs to refer to Johnson.

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October 2020 | Bordentown Current11

‘Baseless claims’ swirl as election nears New Jersey joins list of states conducting elections by mail

By Michele Alperin

In an atmosphere rife with misinformation and political divisiveness, confusing messages have spawned concerns about mail-in voting—a process that has proven safe and secure in the several states where it is now the norm.

Many states have for years conducted their elections entirely or mostly by mail-in ballot. New Jersey will join them for this year, after Gov. Phil Murphy issued Executive Order No. 177, mandating all active registered New Jersey voters receive a mailin ballot with prepaid return postage for the Nov. 3 general election.

This switch has not sat well with some, and disinformation about the process and safety of vote-at-home elections started to spread as a result. One piece of disinformation—one that could land voters in jail—came from President Donald Trump, who suggested to North Carolina citizens Sept. 2 that they vote twice, once by mail and once at the polls, to test the security of the system. Anyone who follows the president’s suggestion would be committing voter fraud, a third-degree crime that could lead to a felony conviction.

Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes, in a Sept. 18 email, called Trump’s suggestion “absurd.”

“Don’t be distracted by baseless claims that seek to undermine the voting process,” he wrote. “Studies have shown that voting fraud in the United States is extremely rare, and states where voting now is done almost entirely by mail are said to report very little fraud.”

In fact, New Jersey compares signatures on mail-in ballots to those on file in the Statewide Voter Registration System. The Board of Elections also has processes in place to flag ballots for voters who are not registered, have passed away or do not live in the county or state.

Voting fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States, whether for mailin ballots or otherwise. Conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, which maintains a database of fraudulent voting incidences, found 204 cases of fraudulent use of absentee ballots among the 250 million votes cast by-mail ballot nationally. Of these, 143 resulted in criminal convictions.

Overall, there were 1,200 cases of voter fraud, or 0.000006 percent of total votes cast. It equals about one case per state every six or seven years. According to the database, New Jersey has seen 16 instances of voter fraud since 2003, with nine criminal convictions.

Another piece of disinformation used to denigrate voting by mail comes again

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from the president, who claimed in April that if the United States switched to allmail voting “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” In an Aug. 26 article in “Science” magazine, Warren Cornwall reported on two independent studies that refute this claim.

The studies found no statistically significant difference in voting levels by Democrats versus Republicans in states that had switched to mail-in ballots.

National Vote At Home Institute national policy director Audrey Kline works with election officials to optimize administrative processes and laws for both mail and in-person voting. She’s noticed a cultural divide between the eastern and western United States, where mail-in ballots have been far more common than in the East, more so than a partisan one when it comes to mail-in ballots.

“We have some very staunch Republican supporters,” Kline said.

“A lot of them are the election officials themselves; they are public servants; they are doing the Lord’s work; and they’re just trying to make it easier for people to vote.” *** If voting by mail feels overwhelming, be reassured that all you have to do is complete the ballot by carefully following instructions and then choosing one of several ways to ensure its arrival.

Below is a guide to voting in Burlington County in the Nov. 3 election, where we explain the process.

To register to vote (or to submit a name change, an address change, a signature update, or a change in political party affiliation or non-affiliation), visit voter.svrs.nj.gov/register.

Complete your ballot carefully and on time Along with your mail-in ballot, you will also find an outer envelope with prepaid postage that will allow delivery to the Burlington County Board of Elections and an inner envelope with a detachable flap (do not detach this flap but be sure to sign it; election officials will detach it later as part of the secure counting process). After you complete your ballot and sign the flap, you will place your completed ballot inside the envelope that has the flap; the last step will be to insert the entire inner envelope inside the outer envelope.

Make sure to use only blue or black ink when filling in the circles by the candidates of your choice, because the computer scanner will only read blue or black ink.

Submit your ballot or vote in-person

After completing your ballot, you have four options for submitting it: (1) Mail it via the U.S. Postal Service; your ballot must be postmarked

by Election Day, Nov. 3, to be counted.

The ballot will be counted as long as it is received by Nov. 10.

Make sure you are (2) Drop it in a secured drop box (monitored 24/7 by camera) by 8 registered p.m. on Nov. 3 at one of 13 Burlington Voters in the Nov. 3 election must County locations.

Given recent issues in the news be registered by Oct. 13, 2020. Active, registered voters began receiving about the U.S. Postal Service, Kline mail-in ballots Sept. 30. If you do not says, “Drop boxes are a really imporreceive a ballot by Oct. 13, contact the tant option because it gives people a Burlington County Clerk’s office at little bit of an extra option but also they get that confidence level a little higher.”

(609) 265-5229.

If these options do not work for you, you may go to your polling place on Nov. 3 and complete a provisional YOUR YOUR HOMETOWN HOMETOWN AGENT AGENT (paper) ballet between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Provisional ballots will be checked against the records of mail-in ballots to ensure that people do not vote twice.

Ewing councilwoman Jennifer Keyes-Maloney said there is a need for matching signatures—both because of potential fraud but also because double voting may be unintended.

Insurance Counselor Insurance InsuranceCounselor Counselor “My father had Alzheimer’s,” she said. “I could see him filling out voteby-mail and then he knows he needs to vote on Election Day and goes to [his polling place],” she said.

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Track your ballot online If you are worried that somehow your ballot might get lost either in the postal system or in a drop box, you can ascertain online whether your ballot has arrived where it belongs. But this requires a little advanced preparation.

Before you can register for the Public Access, where you can check to ensure that your ballot has been received and recorded, you will need your Voter ID number if you registered before 2005 or you will need either your driver’s license number or social security number if you registered after 2005.

To register for the Public Access system, go to voter.svrs.nj.gov/auth/signup. The system will also allow you to see your election history, as well as information about your polling place, upcoming election dates, voting district information and county election officials.

Counting the votes

First, the Board of Elections ensures that your signature on the flap of the inner envelope matches the signature contained within the Statewide Voter Registration System.

Only then is the flap detached, saved and archived, and your vetted ballot is placed with other ballots, grouped by municipality. This ensures that your vote will remain anonymous.

The mail-in voting process still has the potential for problems, although New Jersey has taken steps to avert these.

Princeton University computer science professor Andrew Appel, an election security expert, has explored the vote-bymail process and what might go wrong in three posts on the Freedom to Tinker website, hosted by Princeton University’s Center for Technology Policy.

New Jersey has had to adjust its laws, Appel writes, to allow processing of the envelopes in the weeks before Nov. 3. This is critically important to ensure that all ballots are counted safely and on-time. States facing large numbers of mail-in ballots, Appel writes, “can’t process all the ballot envelopes on Nov. 3—it’s just too labor intensive.”

This early processing of ballots allows some ballot problems to be fixed; for example, if the signature on the envelope flap does not match the signature on file, the voter can be contacted and allowed to fix the ballot.

At a time when postal service has been unusually slow, New Jersey will be counting mail-in ballots that arrive by Nov. 10, as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3. States that do not accept ballots that arrive after Election Day—even if they are postmarked by Election Day—“may disenfranchise many voters,” Appel writes. On the other hand, he adds, states like New Jersey that do count ballots as long as they arrive before a preset date may face a different type of problem if the late-arriving ballots shift the election to a different candidate.

“There’s been steady growth [in vote-by-mail] for about 20 years,” Kline said. “And then you’re seeing, especially this year, exponential growth, and it’s really incredible to see what we were expecting for 2020

versus what’s actually happening.”

In West Coast states, Kline says, “People like it. It is seen as a convenient option. It’s seen as good government.”

Once a state shifts to 60-70% usage of mail-in ballots, it becomes more effective to proactively mail ballots to all voters, Kline said. Both Montana, where any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot, and Arizona, where any registered voter may make a onetime request to get a ballot by mail for all future elections, reached this level of mail-in voting before the pandemic.

Voting by mail is also “very costeffective,” Kline says, noting that Colorado saved $6 per vote when it switched over to a full vote-at-home model.

New Jersey has been trending toward a mostly vote-by-mail election the past few years, even without the pandemic. New Jersey voters can get a ballot for any reason and can be put on the vote-by-mail list permanently.

“We were really, really excited to see New Jersey take the full step and just say, ‘You know what? We think that we have enough information, we have secure enough processes that we are going to proactively mail ballots to everyone. And then create other options to handle any issues that come up from that,’” Kline said in June, before New Jersey’s primary.

To further guard against fraud, Kline’s organization is recommending risk-limiting audits for the state, statistical audits that were piloted in New Jersey in several county-level elections in 2019. The audits were piloted as one measure to force New Jersey to abandon its decades-old, paperless touchscreen voting machines in exchange for a voting process that included a more-secure method of voting and a paper trail. Election security experts, like Appel, have been raising the alarm about New Jersey’s voting machines for 15 years now, and urging the state to move to a process that produces a paper trail and can be audited.

Thought it isn’t what anyone envisioned when the year started, the state’s vote-by-mail 2020 general election does just that: produces results with an auditable paper trail.

“Vote-by-mail is very secure,” Kline said. “We have the most data for places like Colorado, Oregon, and Washington that have been doing it for a long time. Oregon in particular has many, many years of data, and [fraud] is just deeply, exceedingly rare. I heard somebody say from the Brennan Center … that you’re more likely to get struck by lightning than to commit voting fraud.”

List of ballot drop boxes for Burlington County Burlington Township Municipal Building, 851 Old York Rd., Burlington Township, to open Oct. 1.

Chesterfield Township Municipal Building, 300 Bordentown Chesterfield Rd., Chesterfield Mansfield Township Municipal Building, 3135 Route 206 South, Columbus A complete list of drop boxes can be found at nj.gov/state/elections/ vote-secure-drop-boxes.

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October 2020 | Bordentown Current13

ELECTION 2020 Bordentown Township Committee

Two candidates are up for two township committee seats: incumbent James Kostoplis and Aneka Miller.

Kostoplis, 66, has lived in Bordentown for 30 years. He is a retired police lieutenant. He attended WoodRidge High School and went on to attend the Bergen County police and fire academies. He also went through the New Jersey State Correction Officer’s Academy and the state Department of Health Emergency Medical Technician Training. Kostoplis has previously served as the Hamilton PBA president, the Hamilton Superior Officers Association president and the New Jersey Police Honor Legion president. He was also a volunteer radio announcer for the New Jersey Radio for the Blind and Handicapped.

Kostoplis has also run for Burlington County Sherriff and served as Bordentown Township District 2 Fire Commissioner.

Miller, 45, has been a Bordentown resident for 14 years. She attended Plainfield High School and went on to graduate from Morgan State University with a degree in electrical engineering. She also earned an MBA from Rutgers University. Miller works as a regulatory affairs project manager for Merck. She currently serves

Kostoplis

Miller

on the Bordentown Regional Board of Education and has volunteered in PTO services at various district schools. She is also a longtime family member of the Bordentown Bulldogs youth football team.

Miller’s responses to the questionnaire provided by the Bordentown Current are below. *** Why do you feel you are the right person to ser ve on the committee?

Miller: I am running to be a part of the local governing process within my community. I believe my translatable skill sets gained from my career in project management and risk man-

agement may be leveraged in this role. Additionally, I am open to learning more and contributing to the committee. I am an advocate for unity in the community. In lieu of past events, I have become more engaged with the Bordentown Community Alliance; it is a partnership with the Bordentown Township Police Department and residents, with the objective of driving continuous improvement in community relations through enhanced transparency, accountability and fostering trust.

The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor earlier this year sparked important conversations about racial injustice, including in Bordentown. The township has faced its share of racism allegations in the past. Do you believe racial injustice is an issue in town?

If so, what else can be done locally to dispel it? If not, what would you say to those who say it is a problem?

Miller: Recent events in our nation have been captured and shared in myriad mediums, however these are not isolated issues. It showcased the inequities and double standards of the governing laws and exposed the hearts and minds of Americans.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

(Dr. Marting Luther King, Jr.) I would encourage people to treat each other with the respect that you’d want, at the bare minimum. There are various opportunities and organizations to get involved, to have the uncomfortable conversations and be accountable for your own actions. We’re not all the same and that’s fine; we have different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, this should be a harmonious asset in our community, not a reason for divisiveness.

Are there any areas in town that you think could benefit from open space designation, development, or other improvement? If so, where?

Miller: Bordentown Township has done a good job with development projects. I am open to learning more about specific Township locations

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that could benefit from open space designation.

What do you think is the issue most important to Bordentown voters? How do you plan to address it?

Miller: 2020 has been an extraordinary year. In consideration of COVID, I believe it’s important that we maintain a robust response and preparedness plan to activate, if needed. However, some concerns remain the same, regardless of COVID-19. I share the concerns of the Township residents on taxes and will seek opportunities to streamline shared services (e.g., Bordentown Sewerage Authority) where possible with the township business administration, to avoid increase. I’ll continue to support the school district and the board of education on its pathway to excellence. And finally, I will partner with our police officers and residents to ensure transparency, accountability and trust.

Bordentown Regional Board of Education Joseph Dean, 38, is the lone candidate for one open Fieldsboro seat on the school board. He grew up in Bordentown and attended BCIT WestTech, where he studied electronics.

He went on to studied electronics engineering at DeVry University and earned a degree in business management with a project management certification from Columbia Southern University. Dean and his wife moved back to the area six years ago, and they currently have two children attending BRHS, one at BRMS and two at MacFarland. He currently works as a project coordinator for Wawa, overseeing projects in the tri-state area. He volunteers as a mentor for children and young adults and coaches for the Bordentown Area Basketball League.

Eileen Francisco-Cabus is running for the township seat on the school board. She is 42 years old and has lived in Bordentown for four and a half years. She graduated from Freeport High School in Freeport, New York and went on to attend Otterbein College (now Otterbein University) in Ohio, where she studied psychology. She currently is a staff member at Mercer County Community College, working with students with intellectual disabilities. Franciso-Cabus is the current school board president. She has been an active member of Princeton United Methodist Church since 2008 and serves on two church committees. She is also active in Diaper Depot, a non profit for families based in Trenton.

Janet Nielsen, 70, is up for the city seat on the board of education.

She has lived in Bordentown for 15 years. She earned a degree in education from Kean University, a master’s in human development from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a certificate in teaching ESL from The College of

Dean

Francisco-Cabus

New Jersey. She is a retired educator and has been a member for the board of education for three years. Nielsen also volunteers with Building Bridges.

The Bordentown Current send questionnaires to each candidate.

Their responses are below. *** Why should voters elect you to the school board?

Dean: I believe in the home as the true foundation for a family’s strength and growth; and for so many in our community, Bordentown is a representation of this “home.” Our community is tight knit. Our neighbors are our friends, and we rely on them for strength and growth. We must improve our community as a whole, starting with our children at home and our schools. Together, we must foster a foundation of life-long learning and resiliency. This is my cause.

Francisco-Cabus: Our district has a plethora of talent and very well intentioned citizens. I hope to contribute to our community with thoughtful, logical and responsible consideration, research based logic and active seeking of peoples needs and experiences.

Nielsen: Because I’ve been working on committees to begin some important projects and they need to be continued. We are a unique team of board members who work very well together.

The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor earlier this year sparked important conversations about racial injustice, including in Bordentown, and the region has had its share of racism allegations in the past. Do you believe racial injustice is an issue in town? If so, what can the district do to dispel it? If not, what would you say to those who say it is a problem?

Dean: The deaths were hard to digest. Being a black male and seeing the video had me at a loss for words.

Do I feel it’s an issue? YES! As a community, we must “Educate” and “Empathize.” We need to approach racial injustice with an unbiased, apolitical mindset; but we cannot keep hiding this issue under the rug. We must hold each other accountable; and remember before we are any race, religion, or political party, we are “HUMAN.” Francisco-Cabus: We do not exist within a bubble. Any kind of injustice toward any fellow citizen is an issue within each person, each home and in the community as a whole. The school

is a microcosm of its community, it is also the common place for all members of our future to have experiences that shape who we can become as a community. This time has presented us with a distinct opportunity to have conversations that have been difficult but also a long time coming. It is an opportunity to not just express oneself but also to hear others.

Nielsen: Racial injustice is systemic and is an issue in every town in the United States. Racist policies have been instituted for hundreds of years in education and in the fabric of our everyday lives. The district can do plenty to work on the issue of racial injustice in educating staff, faculty, group leaders, administrators as well as the community and board members. Proper history can be woven into the social studies curriculum and across the curriculum. By proper, I mean, honest history rather than hiding factual accounts of the policies that have been put into place on both the federal and state levels. We are fortunate to have school leaders who are aware of racial injustice and lack of equity and to be part of a community which wants to move forward even though the conversation is sometimes awkward. Inclusivity has become recognized as an important part of developing an atmosphere which combats the crisis in education caused by racial inequity.

How do you think the district has handled learning adjustments due to COVID-19? Is there anything you would change or do differently?

Dean: The adjustments made by our district does not serve everyone’s best interest and it is definitely a trying time for parents, teachers, and most importantly, our students. We must continue to be safe and lead accordingly. The more we know, the more we can approach the pandemic rationally; with science as our guide, and adjust the plans based on the best available information in the future. Personally, I thought of several different options and scenarios, but it still wouldn’t be close to normal. There are no easy ways around it, especially in some of our older school buildings. Overall, the school staff have been amazing and trying their best to accommodate each student and prepping the schools for hopefully a safe return in the future.

Francisco-Cabus: I am grateful to the response of the administration, faculty,

Nielsen staff, students and parents to COVID19. There are, of course, lessons to learn and areas for improvement but, there have been such efforts to address our students needs. Safety, well being and education have been our guiding stars.

I wouldn’t change this approach.

Nielsen: I believe that the district has done an exceptional job handling the learning adjustments. The committee needs to be applauded for the work they have done to ensure the safety of the staff and students. This is an unprecedented time in our country and the district has faced the circumstances with tireless efforts.

What do you think is the issue most important to Bordentown voters? How do you plan to address it?

Dean: The most important issue would be the budget. I know the dis-

trict has a tight one as is and with the current COVID concerns and procedures we must follow, it doesn’t make it any easier. We must continue to be diligent and transparent in all of our approaches. That means keeping a strong vision for our future, yet being agile in our decision making and realistic with our priorities.

Francisco-Cabus: I think Bordentown voters worry about whether or not our children are safe, on so many levels and that we are preparing our children for the future that is in front of them. I think that it is heavy on every parent’s mind that they have children who have lives that are happy, wellbalanced, sustainable and can provide for their families. Valuing the different views, gifts, visions and expertise of each board member enriches the directions, conversation and decisions of the board. Bordentown has a strong board with varied, strong convictions.

This has been and will be key in moving the the District forward.

Nielsen: Most voters are concerned for the safety and well-being of the students. BRSD needs to create safe spaces for ALL students to be able to reach out to an adult for support, especially during this COVID-19 imposed period of isolation Many parents are in a very difficult position these days trying to balance working remotely and their children being in virtual learning situations. The district has to stay on top of what is best for the social and emotional health of our students, and respond accordingly.

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Mind your spine while working from home MARC J. LEVINE ASK THE DOCTOR

mentary Better Health Program, offered diet, recipes that you can use to heal afneck pain. Ideally, you want to keep your

by Robert Wood Johnson University Hoster surgery, and more. Virtual Class Foreyes straight ahead, which may require pital Hamilton. Meet Sara I. Ali, MD, spemat. 6:30 p.m. raising your screen or lowering your cialist in geriatric and internal medicine, chair. The proper use of eyeglasses and to learn about the benefits of geriatric THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 contact lens can also help with posture. medicine. Virtual and in-person class for- The Science of Habit Change. (609) 584-5900.

What kind of movement can mats available. Call to register. 3 p.m.

Learn how to apply the current research on motivation to devise strategies for positive help to maintain spine health durMONDAY, OCTOBER 5 change. Virtual Class Format. 11 a.m. ing a long day at the computer?

Take time to stretch before you start Eating Greens to Beat the Blues. (609) Polypharmacy: Managing Your Medica584-5900. Learn quick, easy, and delitions. Sara I. Ali, MD, Geriatric and Interyour day. Take advantage of opportucious preparations of common green nal Medicine, will lead a discussion on nities to stretch during the day, too. leafy vegetables dense in folate to supmanaging multiple medications while If you prefer, going for a walk to start port brain health. Virtual Class Format. treating several illnesses. In-person and and end your day is a great way to get Call to register. 6:30 p.m. virtual formats available. 3 p.m. some from fresh air and maintain your MONDAY, OCTOBER 19 health. Plan to use some of the time TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 you would normally spend commuting Ask the Dietitian & Body Fat Screening. Fit Families: A Virtual Wellness. Also Mon(609) 584-5900. Join Michelle Summerday, Oct. 26. (609) 584-5900. This dietifor stretching and aerobic exercise. son, MEd, RD, for a one-on-one Q&A, and tian-directed series will focus on nutriWhat tips do you have for families receive a body fat screening. In person/ tion basics, budget-friendly recipes, and working and going to school at home?

Attendance limited. Call to register. 9 a.m. incorporating fitness into daily routines.

In the world of work, being able to Virtual Class Format. 6:30 p.m. multitask can be a good skill. However, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 holding a child on your lap while work- Cholesterol Lipid Profile and Glucose/ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20 ing may not be optimal for the health Blood Pressure & Stroke Risk Assess- Music from the “Crooners”. (609) 584of your spine. Consider changing posi5900. Join Ellen Renee from EllenRenee ment. (609) 584-5900. Simple finger Productions for a fun-filled hour of memstick. Fast 12 hours prior. In person/Attions to avoid cramping in any one posiories from the best of times. In-person tendance limited. Call to register. $5. tion. It is also important to eat healthy and virtual formats available. 3 p.m.

8:30 a.m. and hydrate; when the day is over walk The Neurological System. (609) 584-5900. away from that desk and exercise.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12

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How can sitting for long periods of time affect the back?

The seated position places a significant amount of pressure on your low back discs. Having an ergonomic appropriate workstation is just as important at home as it is at your office. Take note of what works at home and consider incorporating it to your office at work.

What can be done to create a healthy workspace?

The arrangement of your chair and your computer monitor is essential to creating a healthy workspace at home.

A proper chair with lumbar support can Coming up this month at Bariatric Nutrition Basics. (609) 584-5900. help minimize backaches and allows The latest information on supplements, your feet to sit comfortably on the RWJUH-Hamilton the science behind the liver shrinking ground, contributing to better posture as you sit and work. Proper positioning THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1 of a computer monitor can help maintain Meet Your Better Health Program for VIPs your neck in a neutral position and avoid 65+. Also Tuesday, Oct. 27. (609) 5845900. Explore the benefits of the compli-

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The American Revolution and the arena of war transpired at the Battles of Brandywine Creek and Germantown. During the latter engagement, confusion reigned THE BEND IN THE RIVER as the Americans began to fire on one another while attempting to attack In the summer of 1777, British Gen- Howe’s garrison in heavy fog. When the eral Sir William Howe set into motion fog and smoke cleared, the terrain was an ambitious plan to strike at the heart strewn with bodies of those killed and of American democracy. Known as the wounded. Among the injured was CapPhiladelphia Campaign, the plan called tain Joseph Borden III, the 22-year-old for roughly 17,000 troops to be loaded son of Colonel Joseph Borden, Jr. Although Howe had pushed Washingonto 211 warships under the command of his brother, Vice Admiral Lord Vis- ton into retreating for the winter at Valcount Richard Howe and ferried to a ley Forge, his military actions weren’t landing point up the Chesapeake River proven successful. Due to the slow movewhere they would disembark and begin ments of his troops and those of General their trek towards the city that seated Burgoyne, the Americans concentrated the Second Continental Congress. their fighting forces and defeated BurHowe felt that by attacking and captur- goyne at the Battle of Saratoga in New ing Philadelphia, it would force General York. This fiasco forced General Howe to Washington into a full scale confronta- resign from his commission.

On Dec. 17, two days before marchtion that he knew he could not win.

However, Washington took excep- ing into the Valley Forge encampment tion to the maneuver and ordered the with 12,000 troops, General Washington removal of livestock and food supplies received a courier message from Francis from Maryland’s Head of Elk area in Hopkinson. The message informed the anticipation of approaching enemy ships. general that the Navy Commission had This was a brilliant tactic since the fleet approved testing involving oak barrels woefully lacked sustainable provisions filled with incendiary black powder in the from the start. As a result, food and hope of disrupting enemy ships moored water shortages plagued the troops and along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. lowered their effectiveness. The saving The idea of floating mines was considered grace was that Vice Admiral Howe sailed audacious at best but the citizens of Borback to the Delaware River, mounting dentown were willing to carry it through.

Hopkinson, Colonel Joseph Borden, naval blockades and thrusting carnage against the shoreline defense systems Jr., Colonel Joseph Kirkbride, Colonel of Forts Mifflin and Mercer which con- Oakley Hoagland, and Caleb Carman were the driving forces in making the trolled the port entry to Philadelphia.

Despite hard challenges presented to deadly mines a reality after hearing British troops, General Howe’s plan also about experiments conducted by Conhinged on the actions of General John necticut inventor, David Bushnell. The Burgoyne and his forces advancing from wooden kegs were manufactured in Canada into New England, thus split- Borden’s cooperage behind Hopkinting the American militia. Known as the son’s home. Then the men approached -Northern Trenton/Lawrence/Robbinsville Crossword -10/20 named Robert Jackaway to Campaign, Howe speculated a gunsmith that he would assist Burgoyne in disman- supply gunpowder and fasten spring tling the rebels once the occupation of locks for the devices. A pin maker by the Philadelphia was secured. In the ensu- name of Joseph Plowman obliged with ing weeks, bloody clashes between foes the creation of the firing pins. Finally,

DOUG KIOVSKY

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panic to the British fleet to fire upon the bobbing kegs with their muskets. While this may have been considered a maritime failure for the Americans, Hopkinson made sure that the British Empire would be decimated on the printed page.

He turned the incident into an exaggerated victory with his whimsical ballad, “The Battle of the Kegs.”

Copies of Hopkinson’s achievement were sent to printers for distribution in newspapers and magazines throughout the land. Sung to the tune of the celebrated “Yankee Doodle,” its satirical nature boosted the morale of colonists.

Showing distain for such propaganda, the British militia retaliated by taking out their aggression on the citizens of Bordentown the following spring.

Doug Kiovsky is the co-president of the Bordentown Historical Society.

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everything culminated with the Bunting brothers employing their blacksmithing skills in making nails and other features.

Under the cover of darkness on Jan. 6, the men braved the frigid weather and fastened 20 kegs together on the assumption that if the rope was caught on the bow of a ship, the kegs would angle along the hull and explode. Then the kegs were positioned on an open barge. Carman, a leather tanner, offered to pilot the craft down river along with a friend.

When they reached their destination in Philadelphia, they cautiously released the kegs into the water. However, they didn’t realize that the enemy drew their ships to the docks as a preventative measure against masses of floating ice. It is said that as two young crew members of a barge went to investigate the buoys that were tied to the kegs, it set off an explosion instantly killing them and spreading

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20  Bordentown Current | October 2020