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History takes the center stage for America’s 250th By Bill Sanservino
Before there was a country, there was a road through New Jersey, a river crossing in the dark, a capital city waiting in fear, a battlefield outside Princeton and a network of farms, taverns, churches and meetinghouses where ordinary people were pulled into extraordinary events. Two hundred and fifty years later, those places are not just names in a history book. They
are parks, libraries, museums, downtown streets, ballfields, old houses and river towns that still shape daily life in central New Jersey. America’s semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — will be marked nationally on July 4, 2026. But in this region, the anniversary is especially local. Trenton, Princeton, Washington Crossing, Bordentown, Al-
lentown and surrounding communities were not bystanders to the Revolution. They were part of the ground on which the future of the country was marched over, fought for and, eventually, claimed. The events listed below run from July 1 through Dec. 31 and range from fireworks, concerts and public readings of the Declaration of Independence to museum exhibitions, walking tours, See 250TH , Page 7
Pond Road students reach final round of STEAM Tank Challenge By Bill Sanservino
Robbinsville senior Lexi Lopez was one of the Colonial Valley Conference’s most dominant pitchers in each of the past two seasons, and became just the second Ravens hurler with 400 career strikeouts. (Photo by Julie Lawandy.) For more on Lopez and the team, see page cktk.
Academy Dental
A team of Pond Road Middle School students reached the final round of the New Jersey School Boards Association’s STEAM Tank Challenge, a statewide competition that encouraged students to use science, technology, engineering, arts and math to solve real-world problems. The Robbinsville team — Vihaan Ganesh, Jackson Koehler, Madison Beaver, Kavya Ahuja and Brandon Preiss — developed Hydro Breeze, a prod-
uct designed to help prevent mold growth in reusable water bottles by drying them more efficiently and using mold-detection indicators. The students presented their project in May to a panel of judges from the New Jersey School Boards Association as part of the final round of the competition. The winners of the middle school challenge were Team In Sink from Garfield Middle School, Team Reed Claim from Demarest Middle School and
Hunger Haulers from Green Brook Middle School. Although the Pond Road team did not finish among the winners, the students were recognized for reaching the final round of the statewide competition. The five students also were honored for their accomplishments at the Robbinsville Board of Education meeting on April 28. Hydro Breeze was created to address a common problem with reusable water bottles. While the bottles are practical, stylish and See STEAM TANK , Page 4
2026
CHILDREN & ADULTS
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