October 2019 www.readingtonnews.com
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Readington News A Community Newspaper
A Tale of Three Trends
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Serving All of Readington Township, NJ
In 2018, Verano was granted a permit by the New Jersey Department of Health’s Division of Medical Marijuana to grow cannabis for medical purposes. Recreational cannabis is not legal in New Jersey at this time. Fort and Albanese wrote, “Verano’s plans for this site include leaving the building’s exterior much as it appears today, with some improved landscaping and lighting. There will be little, if any, signage. The operation will be serviced by vans, and there will be no tractor-trailer or other truck traffic generated. Like all cannabis facilities, there will be tight security, with many cameras and security personnel. The facility will not be open to the public.” Verano officials told the township they will be hiring about 100 local employees and will be holding a job fair in the near future. The Walmart store, which has been vacant for almost 20 months, has failed to attract another retail use, the mayor said. It keeps the property on the tax rolls, with no reduction, and there may be additional tax benefits for the township. In addition, when township officials met with principals of Verano, the principals stated their commitment to giving back to the township, and cited many examples of how they had done this in other towns, she said. Verano did not require any permits or variances from the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment because agriculture is a permitted use in all but one zone in the township. “The township views this as a win-win-win situation, bringing about 100 new jobs to Readington, occupying a vacant building which was unlikely to attract new retail and keeping the building fully on the tax rolls, and providing marijuana for medical use to two Central Jersey dispensaries,” Fort said.
Holly Trail Tickets On Sale For Final Tour
Tickets for the Dec. 7 Stanton Holly Trail are now on sale. Started in 1962, Holly Trail is the longest running house tour in New Jersey. The day consists of touring five private homes elaborately festooned with hand-made Christmas decorations and fresh greens. The ticket price for the traditional Saturday daytime tour is $50. The ticket includes bus transportation to each home, complimentary tea and cookies, admission to the craft bazaar, a stop at the Candy House filled with tasty treats, and a musical respite in the sanctuary of the Stanton Reformed Church. There is an optional gourmet lunch available for an additional cost of $15. The tour can also be enjoyed by candlelight on Friday, Dec. 6. This popular option gives patrons the opportunity to see the homes by luxury bus with a dedicated tour guide. Patrons begin with a champagne reception and dinner at the newly re-decorated Stanton Ridge Country Club, with live entertainment and a silent auction. Tickets can be purchased two ways. Patrons can visit www.stantonhollytrail.org and either purchase tickets there or download a ticket form and mail it in. If additional assistance is needed, call the Holly Hotline at
Readington resident Jean Feike is pictured at a past Stanton Holly Trail luncheon. –Submitted by Amy Coss
Readington News
Construction workers started showing up at the former Walmart site in midSeptember. The entrance and exit are gated off while the building is transformed to a cannabis-growing facility.
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This past decade has witnessed three trends which are now converging on the retired Walmart on Route 22. First, the move to more Internet shopping spurred big retail chains to reduce their numbers of brick and mortar stores. Second, agriculture visionaries realized the well-lit, wide open spaces of old retail stores make great environments for state-of-the-art indoor farming, year-round. And third, the acceptance of marijuana for medical purposes brought about increased demand for marijuana plants grown carefully under controlled conditions.
And so, the Walmart in Readington, which closed in 2018, is now coming back to life as a cannabis-growing facility. Mayor Betty Ann Fort and Deputy Mayor John Albanese, in an email to The Readington News, wrote that Verano, a part of one of the nation’s largest cannabis companies, Harvest Health and Recreation, headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, “will grow and process cannabis for medical use at this facility. There will not be a dispensary. This site will provide products for the company’s two licensed dispensaries in Phillipsburg and Elizabeth.”
The Readington Museums’ Cold Brook School, originally built in 1828, will be open on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. for visitors to see what it was like to attend school in the early nineteenth century. GPS address is 190 Potterstown Road, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Visitors will have the opportunity to become abecedarians, try their hand at orthography using a quill pen and ink, cipher mathematical problems, and learn a sample of New Jersey history. For recess, visitors can play a variety of nineteenth-century games,
such as rolling hoops in the meadow. Apple cider and homemade bread with apple butter will be available. Due to the small size of the schoolhouse, groups of four or more are asked to call for a reservation. It is a free, family-friendly event, although donations will be gratefully accepted. In case of inclement weather please call the Museums to find out the status of the program. For more information, visit www.readingtontwp. org/ReadingtonMuseums.html or call 908-236-2327.
Open House at Cold Brook School Oct. 6
908-713-8111. Tickets for either day must be purchased in advance and are limited. Tickets are available on a first come, first serve basis. “Joyful and Triumphant: The Final Tour” marks the end of Stanton Holly Trail. “Like many all-volunteer organizations, we are struggling to find younger volunteers to carry on the work of Holly Trail,” said Suzanne Schwanda, co-chair of Holly Trail. “We still believe deeply in the causes we support and hope to re-invent ourselves in order to continue to support Briteside Adult Day Services and outreach at Stanton Reformed Church.” The 2018 tour raised over $40,000 which was divided evenly between Briteside Adult Day Services, benefiting older adults and community outreach at Stanton Reformed Church which includes Starfish Food Pantry, Boy Scout Troop 1969, Safe in Hunterdon, Feed the Need, Good News Home for Women, as well as many other organizations. For details and photos of past tours visit www.stantonhollytrail.org.
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