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Police Blotter
TOWN TOPICS, PRINCETON, N.J., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2022 • 8 Slow Pandemic Spread
Mi España
Authentic Street Food from Spain getforky.com
BOCADILLOS $12
Spanish lunch sandwiches are served on European style baguettes with green side salad & balsamic
Serrano Ham
Serrano ham, Manchego cheese & tomato
Chorizo
Dry cured chorizo, Manchego cheese & tomato
España
Thinly sliced cured pork loin, Manchego cheese and quince paste
M111111111111111N PAELLAS $12 2 3 “TRADITIONAL VALENCIANA RICE DISHES” Paella Mixta 2 Chorizo, chicken, grouper, shrimp Paella España THE PERFECT SOLUTION 3 2 3 O444444444444444P Chorizo, pork loin, chicken, portobello Paella Vegeterania Artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini, red pepper FOR YOUR HOLIDAY NEEDS — LET US CATER YOUR EVENT IN THE
THE PERFECT SOLUTION Traditional Spanish style omelette with potato, onions and eggs Spanish Meatballs $10 FOR YOUR HOLIDAY NEEDS — Hand formed w/ beef & pork served with Spanish style marinara sauce LET US CATER YOUR EVENT IN THE Empanadas (2) Select: beef, chicken or vegetable $8 Croquetas (6) $10 THE PERFECT SOLUTION COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME! Spanish tapas dish with a Bechamel sauce Select: Serrano ham or chicken FOR YOUR HOLIDAY NEEDS — Patatas del Chef $12 Lightly fried potatoes tossed with chorizo LET US CATER YOUR EVENT IN THE & Manchego cheese served with spicy bravas sauce COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME!
SOUP Caldo Gallego $8
Cabbage, white beans, potatoes, carrots, Serrano ham, chorizo
Sopa Mar $10
Fish stock with mussels, clams, shrimp, squid and grouper
Potato Leek $8
Leeks, potato, butter (add bacon +$1)
AUTHENTIC DESSERTS OF SPAIN
Torta Santiago Spanish-style almond cake $6 Flan Traditional Spanish-style $6 FOOD CREATED BY CHEF JOSE DIAZ 1111111)1111111 PRINCETON SHOPPING CENTER 301 NORTH HARRISON STREET • PRINCETON, NJ 08542
GETFORKY.COM
Princeton: 354 Nassau Street (609) 683-9700 Crosswicks: 2 Crosswicks Chesterfield Road (609) 291-5525 Princeton: 354 Nassau Street (609) 683-9700 Crosswicks: 2 Crosswicks Chesterfield Road (609) 291-5525 Princeton: 354 Nassau Street (609) 683-9700 Crosswicks: 2 Crosswicks Chesterfield Road (609) 291-5525 Pennington: 7 Tree Farm Road (609) 303-0625 Pennington: 7 Tree Farm Road (609) 303-0625 Pennington: 7 Tree Farm Road (609) 303-0625
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that age demographic who is still in need. We’re also working with our congregate living sites serving Princeton’s older residents to ensure they have the support they need to keep their facility free from outbreaks.”
Princeton Health Department efforts in the fi rst days of the new year have included adding vaccination and booster clinics and supporting the growing demand for COVID-19 tests.
Due to staff shortages, Princeton High School students are learning remotely, not coming into the building, this week. Through Tuesday, however, for the first two school days of the new year, Princeton Public Schools (PPS) have kept the other fi ve schools open for in-person learning, with an absence rate — all absences, not just COVID-19-related absences — of 22 percent.
An online petition, initiated by PHS senior Harmonie Ramsden, calling for PPS to offer virtual or hybrid options “for students who want to stay safe in their learning amid a raging pandemic,” had gathered more than 500 signatures by early in the week.
Nutri-Serve, the food service provider for PPS, is short-staffed because of COVID-19 ailments. It continues to serve breakfast and lunch for students, but menu options are limited and parents have been urged to pack a lunch for students if possible.
PPS Superintendent of Schools Carol Kelley noted that being in school is safer than being out of school. “We are not seeing in-school transmission of the virus,” she said.
“Our district is doing everything possible to keep our schools open for in-person learning,” she continued. “Sometimes it can be a hard decision to make, and people might assume that this year mirrors last year. That is not the case. We have a number of mitigation strategies in place, including vaccinations, that we did not have last year. I do not want people to underestimate the cost of being out of school.”
Pointing out that cases spiked after Thanksgiving and winter breaks, Kelley added, “The data we are seeing indicates that keeping students out of schools is not the most effective way to control COVID spread. At the same time having students out of school exacerbates the mental health crisis being experienced by students across the nation.”
Kelley went on to thank anonymous donors who recently purchased 880 highquality KN95 masks for PPS, which will be distributed to students and staff who need them. Kelley pointed out that the combination of vaccinations; masking with KN95, N95, or surgical masks; and physical distancing have served the district well.
Kelley praised the community for “following the science” and urged parents to continue to follow the protocols for isolating students who test positive. The fi veday quarantine guidelines recently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have not been approved for schools, and, according to Grosser, the CDC and New Jersey Department of Health are currently working on updated guidance on quarantine/isolation times for K-12 schools, which should be coming out soon.
PPS Director of Student Services Micki Crisafulli emphasized that students who have tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate for the full 10 days. “It’s really crucial that parents do not send a COVID-positive student back to school after fi ve days,” she said.
Kelley reiterated the importance of both keeping the community safe and keeping students in school. “I know our students and our parents are concerned about the Omicron variant and increased transmissibility, and I am glad they are taking every precaution,” said Kelley. “But at the same time, it’s good to know that our schools are safe and that students are safer in school than out of school. I would like to see a world where there is as much coverage of student mental health as there is of the omicron variant. Keeping our students in school for in-person learning, with proper protocols in place, is the best way to keep them safe.”
In assessing the rise in COVID case numbers, Princeton University announced last week that the return of undergraduates to campus following winter break would be postponed a week until January 14, and once on campus students would be prohibited from traveling outside Mercer County and Plainsboro except under “extraordinary circumstances.” January 24 remains the fi rst day of spring semester classes, and all students must receive booster shots by January 31.
Rutgers University announced on Tuesday, January 4 that it would be moving all classes to remote until January 31, with all students required to be vaccinated with booster shots by that date.
Mercer County and the New Jersey Department of Health are offering free COVID-19 testing at CURE Insurance Arena, Gate B, 81 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, no appointment necessary, on Wednesday, January 5, Thursday, January 6, and Friday, January 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. COVID-19 testing is also available at many other locations throughout the state. See covid19.nj.gov.
Free at-home, saliva COVID-19 test kits are available, courtesy of the NJDOH and Vault Medical Services. Visit learn.vaulthealth.com/nj for further information.
The Princeton Health Department is offering local clinics on Thursdays, January 6, 20 and February 3 and 17 at the Princeton Senior Resource Center, 45 Stockton Street, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on Thursday, January 27 at La Mexicana, 150 Witherspoon Street from 5 to 8 p.m.
Princeton University will continue to host Pfi zer vaccination clinics at Jadwin Gym on Wednesdays, January 5, 12 to 6 p.m. and January 12 and 19, 12 to 4 p.m.; and Moderna clinics on Thursdays, January 13 and 20 from 12 to 4 p.m.
In addition Mercer County, in partnership with Capital health and Penn Medicine Princeton Health, has announced a number of vaccination clinics in different Mercer County locations in the coming month. See mercercounty.org. The state of New Jersey has also opened two COVID-19 vaccine mega sites at Bridgewater Commons in Somerset County and at Mount Laurel, Burlington County. Appointments made through the New Jersey Vaccine Appointment Finder at covid19.nj.gov are recommended for all sites.
—Donald Gilpin
Princeton Human Services Thanks Donors for Gifts
Princeton Human Services recently thanked donors for the 23rd Annual Holiday Gift Drive, the most successful yet, thanks to the overwhelming number of donors who contributed.
This year, the department distributed gifts to approximately 351 children up to 12 years old. Donors also gave gift cards to each family to help during these diffi cult times. The department thanked Stone Hill Church, Princeton Children’s Fund, Corner House, and the Princeton Recreation Department as well as municipal employees, police offi cers, and the many Princeton residents who made individual donations and sponsored children in the drive.
For information on how to sign up or to make a donation for next year, call (609) 688-2055 or email rjones@ princetonnj.gov.
On December 25, at 5:23 p.m., a 46-year-old male from Trenton was found to be driving while intoxicated, subsequent to a report of a motor vehicle crash on Bayard Lane. He was also found to have three outstanding warrants from various jurisdictions. He was arrested, transported to headquarters, processed, and later released to a sober adult.
On December 23, at 9:47 p.m., a woman reported that, as she was walking her dog on Nassau Street, an unknown male suspect struck and squeezed her buttocks with an open hand. The Detective Bureau is investigating.
On December 20, at 9:24 p.m., a person reported that a business check she had placed in a USPS mailbox on Palmer Square East was stolen and cashed. The check was intended for another business and was in the amount of $7,190.90. The Detective Bureau is investigating.
On December 20, at 7:36 p.m., a 34-year-old female from Skillman was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated, subsequent to a motor vehicle crash on Vandeventer Avenue. She was transported to headquarters, processed, charged accordingly, and later released to a sober adult.
On December 15, at 9:02 p.m., a 50-year-old male from New Hope, Pa., was found to be driving while intoxicated, subsequent to an investigation of a singlevehicle crash on Paul Robeson Place. He was arrested, transported to headquarters, processed, and later released to a sober adult.
Unless otherwise noted, individuals arrested were later released.
