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Mayor reports on impact of pandemic on Ewing By BiLL SANserViNO
Last year was a rough one for Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann. Not only did he have to deal with the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he also contracted the virus and wound up having to be hospitalized. Fortunately he overcame the illness and Business Administrator Jim McManimon was able to run the town while the mayor convalesced. The Ewing Observer interviewed Steinmann in midApril to discuss various issues impacting the township,
including the way the pandemic has affected the township and the way it will conduct business into the future. The pandemic also impacted township revenues, the tax base, property values and commercial and residential development. The mayor also addressed other issues, including a lawsuit filed by the state against the federal government over environmental contamination at the Naval Air Warfare Center site on Parkway Avenue. Below is the first part of a Q&A based on the interview with Steinmann. It has been
edited for length and clarity. The second part will run next month. Ewing Obser ver: Let’s start by talking about the thing that has probably affected the town the most over the past year, which is the pandemic. How has the town dealt with the situation? Bert Steinmann: Our employees did a yeoman’s job in keeping the town running and making sure that there was little disruption if any. I know there was some disruption because of the situSee STEINMANN, Page 13
Ewing native a handbell star Susan Nelson’s compositions have been have been performed worldwide By SUsAN VAN DONGeN
After missing out last season due to COVID-19, Jaden Leggett of Ewing has high hopes for this season running for the Notre Dame track team. See story on Page 18.
Handbell music composer Susan Nelson is a rock star in Estonia. In this country near the Baltic Sea, hundreds of people come out for handbell choirs. But they also get together in substantial crowds for all kinds of other music, as well as performing and literary arts, even poetry readings.
That’s the power of the arts in Estonia, and Nelson got swept up in that love when she befriended the Campanelli Handbell Ensemble and its leader, Inna Lai, who embraced Nelson and her work. “Estonian commitment to and love for music is amazing, in fact they like to say they sang themselves free from Soviet occupation,” Nelson says, adding, “Music is mandatory in education, there are statues of poets, writers, musicians, visual artists everywhere, it’s a very creative and artistic country.” Nelson, who grew up in Ewing, was invited to Estonia in October, 2013, by Lai, to attend an “author’s concert,”
consisting entirely of her works. The composer knew her music was being performed in the Baltic country but was quite surprised when Lai reached out via e-mail and described the all-Nelson program, which would be titled “Sue’s Blues.” The ongoing friendship with Lai led to more international collaborations, and handbells and hands reached back across the sea, when the Campanelli group and Lai came to central New Jersey in 2017, for “Sue’s Blues Too.” “Campanelli’s U.S. tour was a great success,” says Nelson. “This grass roots, independent venture was managed by the See NELSON, Page 7
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