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JUNE 2020
COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Class of 2020 reflects on senior year
DEP sues over TWW ‘failure’ State says Trenton has not made needed investments
School district announces plans for in-person, virtual graduations
By Rob Anthes
By BiLL SanseRVino
The 2019-20 school year is coming to an end, and despite the unusual circumstances, Hamilton Township’s seniors are looking forward to the end of their high school careers. The district’s students have been working from a virtual/ remote learning environment due to COVID-19 since midMarch, and the members of the Class of 2020 have kept up their studies and worked toward graduation day. On May 26, Gov. Phil Murphy authorized outdoor graduation ceremonies starting on July 6. The following day, superintendent Scott Rocco announced the district’s plans for graduation, which include in-person ceremonies on July 30 at each of the high schools. “We have picked the end of July in hopes that the governor increases the number of attendees allowed at graduation,” Rocco said. Also planned are a number of events in June, ending with a virtual graduation ceremony for each school, which will be posted on social media and the district’s TV station (HTV) on Wednesday, June 17. See SENIORS, Page 13
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Hamilton resident Thomas Fillebrown talks to a well-wisher during a parade in honor of his 100th birthday May 15, 2020. (Photo by Todd Cloward/Pixels by Toddc Photography.)
Centennial parade Well-wishers gather for World War II vet’s 100th birthday By NiCoLe ViViano
Thomas Fillebrown has seen a lot in his years. The now-Hamilton resident served in World War II, was police chief in Hopewell Borough for more than a decade, volunteered as a fireman and a EMT, and even arranged New Jersey’s first EMT class for volunteer first aid squads. He organized the Hopewell Borough Memorial Day parade. He has long been active in the community, both with various American Legion posts and with Hopewell Pres-
byterian Church. Fillebrown has helped a lot of people, so on his 100th birthday May 15, many of those people decided to attempt to return the favor. “In his life, in his amazing 100 years of life, there’s a commitment to serving the wider community, both through the church and then at large,” Hopewell Presbyterian Church pastor Melissa Martin said. Local Hopewell and Hamilton police and fire departments, and first aid squads, Hopewell Presbyterian Church members and friends and family of Fillebrown honored his life’s work with a surprise birthday drive-by parade. When original party plans
were canceled due to COVID19, Fillebrown’s family and church of over 60 years pulled together the alternate plan to drive past his home in Evergreen at Hamilton, a 55-andolder community located across from RWJ University Hospital Hamilton. Fillebrown received a framed certificate of appreciation signed by Hopewell Borough Mayor Paul Anzano, a certificate from Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin, a letter from Congressman Chris Smith, a letter from the Mercer County Police Chiefs Association and a hat from the Notre Dame High School Patriots Club. He has been around the See FILLEBROWN, Page 16
Years of threats came to fruition in late May, as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced its intention to sue the City of Trenton, citing as the final straw Trenton council’s “inexplicable failure” to properly fund the city’s drinking water utility. In a letter dated May 21, DEP commissioner Catherine McCabe takes Trenton city council to task, saying its May 7 vote to reject millions of dollars in bonds for crucial measures will prevent Trenton Water Works from providing safe drinking water to its customers. “To be clear, the council’s inexplicable failure to adopt these measures will prevent TWW from meeting critically overdue legal requirements of the [Administrative Consent Orders] and the Safe Drinking Water Act,” McCabe wrote. “These requirements are necessary to ensure a safe and reliable water supply, not only for the City of Trenton, but also for the 217,000 people served by TWW in Ewing, Hamilton, Hopewell and Lawrence Townships.” The measures defeated by council would have provided nearly $100 million in fundSee TWW, Page 14
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