MARCH 2022 FREE
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Bag ban set to become law this spring
Fish tales
Baking bread into booming business By Jack DeeGan
Throughout her entire life, Mary Parr has been impacted by bread. At only 14 years old, she had her first job working at a bakery, where she worked with sourdough bread and bagels, though at the time, she wanted nothing to do with it. Ironically enough, she would also develop a gluten allergy causing her to cut it out entirely. It was only after a trip to France in 2013 that her fascination with bread really began. “I can see it in my mind’s eye, my husband brought me a baguette and he was like, ‘Just try it.’ I remember feeling so good immediately,” she said. “The next two weeks turned into me eating as much bread as I could and not having any of the normal digestive problems I was used to.” She came home from that trip determined to figure out what it was about that bread that didn’t affect her. After experimenting and learning all about bread fermentation, she learned to make the perfect sourdough starter that would enable her to eat — and enjoy — bread again. Now Parr has turned this self-described bread obsession into a full-on business. What started as a way for her to eat normally again completely flipped her life upside down and put her on a new See BREAD, Page 12
By Lisa WOLFF
Elliot Block is set to star as Edward Bloom and Piper Ward as Sandra Bloom in Hopewell Valley Central High School’s upcoming production of “Big Fish,” with performances scheduled for March 4, 5, 11 and 12. For more information, turn to page 2. (Photo courtesy of Maria O’Leary Photography.)
Peters-Manning settling in as township’s new mayor By JOe Emanski
Hopewell Township Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning became the third woman in succession to serve in that role when she was sworn in at the January municipal reorganization meeting. Peters-Manning follows Julie Blake and Kristin McLaughlin in leading the five-member Township Committee. She paid tribute to
both of her predecessors in a phone interview with the Express last month. “Julie Blake is one of my favorite people,” Peters-Manning said. “She did a really good job of teaching me and keeping me involved in things. I learned a lot watching. Most women in politics are lucky if they get a female mentor ever, and I’ve had two with Kristin and Julie and I’m just astounded that I’ve been
able to learn from both of them.” Neither Blake nor McLaughlin is on the committee this year. Blake opted not to run for a third term after completing her second last year, while McLaughlin stepped down from the committee this year after winning election to the Mercer County Board of Commissioners in November. See MAYOR, Page 14
On May 4 the statewide bag ban goes into effect. Over the next two months, businesses, municipalities, schools, and nonprofits are taking steps to prepare for an event that may take some consumers by surprise. If you already use reusable bags when you shop, then this state law, known as S.864, will have little to no impact on your consumer habits. However, recent observations by a member of the Hopewell Valley Green Team and Hopewell Township Environmental Commission indicate that the majority of Hopewell Valley residents show up at stores empty-handed. Beginning May 4, those unknowing shoppers may no longer expect that businesses will provide a bag. The law bans plastic bags, regardless of thickness, at grocery stores and retail outlets, as well as paper bags at grocery stores measuring more than 2,500 square feet. It also bans polystyrene foam food service products and makes plastic straws at restaurants available only upon request. While the ban is most stringent for grocery stores, Mike Rothwell, president and general manager of Pennington See BAN, Page 11
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