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Beyers does ‘dirty work’ for BRHS soccer
Season of giving Local nonprofits adapt to provide during pandemic
By RiCH FiSHer
One of the nice things about Jay Beyers is that when it comes to scoring goals, he can be pretty or gritty. “One thing we’ve been proud of is he’s a kid who buys into (the fact) it doesn’t have to be a pretty goal,” Bordentown High boys soccer coach Jason Zablow noted. “He’s scored a couple off of scrambles in front of the net. He’s also scored on some creative plays where he beats guys one v. one and gets dangerous and creates his own chances. He probably does a little bit of everything. It’s nice a nice quality to have in a player. If one of your top guys wants to do all the little dirty work, he’s gonna get the other guys to buy in.” It’s a mindset that allowed the sophomore to lead Bordentown with 10 goals this year. His five assists were second to Shane Ritter. As a club player for PDA South, Beyers knows what it’s like to play attractive soccer but understands that there are times one has to grind it out. “Playing for a high level club they understand the pretty part of soccer,” Zablow said. “Sometimes high school soccer’s not as pretty. But he realizes there’s a time and place to be gritty and he’s able to kind of draw on that.” Beyers feels when a player is hungry to find the back of See BEYERS, Page 9
By ROB ANTHeS, JOe EMaNSki aNd SaM SCiarrOTTa
Linda Mead (left) of the D&R Greenway and Bordentown City Mayor James Lynch signed the paperwork to make the preservation of Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze property official in October.
City preserves Point Breeze D&R Greenway helped with efforts to save the former Bonaparte property By DaN AuBrey
The New Jersey landscape and Delaware River overlooking the once palatial home and gardens of Joseph Bonaparte is being permanently preserved in the City of Bordentown. The acquisition of the property on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Crosswicks Creek with the Delaware River was accomplished through a partnership agreement between the City of Bordentown and D&R Greenway
Land Trust with the State of New Jersey, all of whom are providing funding. The action secures the permanent preservation of the City of Bordentown’s last unprotected large open landscape and an important place of history. In the 1800s Joseph Bonaparte—Napoleon’s older brother and the former King of Spain and of Naples— lived on a palatial estate on the property, known as Point Breeze, for 17 years. The former king owned the largest library in the United States, as well as an unparalleled collection of European art, and created one of the finest picturesque gardens in America. According to Patricia Tyson Stroud, an historian and author
of the Joseph Bonaparte biography “The Man Who Once Was King,” the Bordentown years “were the happiest of Bonaparte’s long life and where he hosted politicians, diplomats, artists, famous authors, and naturalists.” Those visitors included former President John Quincy Adams, Marquis de Lafayette, and members of the New Jersey State Legislature. The property, 60 acres on Park Street, is at Bordentown City’s gateway and has been under the ownership of Divine Word Missionaries since 1941. The property is currently being transferred to the preservation partners. The $4.6 million acquisition was approved at the October See PROPERTY, Page 10
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Though in-person fundraising events have screeched to a halt for Bordentown City Cats, their efforts to help the region’s feline friends have not. That’s why they’re asking residents—and Santa—for help. The cat rescue will host an online “Dear Santa” crowdfunding campaign for the holidays. The fundraiser was set to kick off on Giving Tuesday. “We rely primarily on inperson fundraisers to fund our operations throughout the year, so the pandemic has hit us particularly hard,” said Jenn Sciortino. “All our rescue operations have continued unabated, but our fundraising efforts have dried up due to the cancellation of events.” Bordentown City Cats is an entirely volunteer-run organization dedicated to rescuing stray and abandoned cats, trapping and socializing feral kittens for adoption and trapping, neutering and returning cats that cannot be domesticated to a safe, outdoor surrounding. The organization relies on in-person events for most of its fundraising—volunteers can always be found at city staples, like the Cranberry Festival and Street Fair, and the rescue hosts an annual flea market. With the cancellation of those events, BorSee NONPROFITS, Page 11
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