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Honor after honor
In-person classes to start April 15
5 up for 3 city seats Municipal election set for May 11 By SaM SciarroTTa
By SaM SciarroTTa
The Bordentown Regional School District will go back to in-person instruction for students who want it starting April 15, said superintendent Ed Forsthoffer in a letter to the community. The news comes as the result of findings from the Return to School survey the district conducted last month. Nearly 1,300 families responded to the survey. One of the key questions, Forsthoffer said, related to social distancing: “Depending on the number of families that wish to send their children into the building, it may NOT be possible to maintain 6-foot social distancing in all of the classrooms. If the district could not guarantee 6-foot social distancing, would you [be willing to send your children into school]?” Twothirds of the respondents said that they would send their children to school for in-person instruction. School will resume after spring break on an all-virtual model starting April 6, as recommended by the Burlington County Health Department. “We recognize that many families will be traveling over the break, possibly outside of New Jersey,” Forsthoffer said. “Although the CDC recommends against traveling, some people are at their breaking points and need See SCHOOLS, Page 9
Bordentown Regional Middle School counselor Dawn Patterson was named Burlington County School Counselors Association Counselor of the Year and New Jersey School Counselor Association Burlington County Counselor of the Year. For more, turn to Page 4.
Save the stone arch Residents rally to preserve historic city bridge By SaM SciarroTTa
The conservation of one of Bordentown City’s most prominent historic sites—the Joseph Bonaparte estate—has made headlines from the Philadelphia Inquirer to the New York Times (and the Current, too). But some local preservationists have their sights set on
another landmark in the city. Under the city, too. The Farnsworth Avenue Stone Arch Carriage Bridge and Tunnel was slated to be replaced based on a plan proposed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The state cites shortcomings, including missing stones, water leakage, cracked and bulging walls, voids and scaling. The tunnel’s inadequate vertical clearance, the state said, renders it functionally obsolete. But residents and histori-
ans argue that the site, which dates back to the 1830s, should instead be preserved and restored. “The state says it’s falling apart, but others say it’s not,” said Doug Kiovsky, vice president of the Bordentown Historical Society. “If anything, it should be rehabilitated, not destroyed. Once you do that, that’s history. That’s it.” The Farnsworth Avenue bridge is the oldest carriage bridge constructed over modSee BrIdGE, Page 8
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Five candidates will vie for three seats on the Bordentown City Board of Commissioners: incumbents John Brodowski, Jim Lynch and Joe Myers will face Ed Foley and Jennifer Sciortino. Browdowski is a lifelong Bordentown resident. He attended Muhlenberg College, where he studied international studies and business administration. He has served on the commission since 2017. Foley is also a lifelong Bordentown resident. He graduated from Saint Joseph’s University. He previously ran for city commission in 2017. Lynch currently serves at Bordentown City’s mayor. He has served on the commission since 1989 and was a member of the board of education from 1983 to 1985. Myers has lived in Bordentown for 16 years. He has a degree in polical science from Trenton State College and completed his masters in political science and government from the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as a commissioner since 2017. Sciortino currently serves as Communications Director for the state treasury department. She has lived in Bordentown since 2008. This is her first time running for office. The Bordentown Current posed a series of questions to each candidate last month. Their responses can be found starting on Page 15.
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