Volume LXXIV, Number 49
Happy Holidays Pages 21-23 Food is Healing for Simple Stove Clients . . . . . . . . . .5 Celebrating 10th Anniversary of St . Michael’s Preservation Project . . . . .8 Allysa Dittmar Leads ClearMask in Challenges of Pandemic . . . . . . . . . . 10 McCarter Presents Sleep Deprivation Chamber in Online Festival . . . . . . . 15 PHS Football Enjoyed Successful Season Despite 1-5 Record . . . . . . . . . .26 PDS Girls’ Soccer Showed Championship Form in Going 10-1 . . . . . . . . . .27
Charles Dickens In Performance on the Sesquicentennial of His Death . . . . . . . . . 14 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .18, 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classified Ads . . . . . . 32 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 30 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 29 Performing Arts . . . . . 16 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Jared Warren Will Be PHS Acting Head, As Baxter Moves On Jared Warren, assistant principal at Princeton High School (PHS) for the last seven years, will be recommended at the December 15 Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) meeting to become PHS acting principal on January 15. Warren will take over from Jessica Baxter, who announced her resignation last month. A special education teacher at Hunterdon Central Regional High School before coming to PHS, Warren has a B.A. in criminal justice from Widener University and a master’s degree in special education, as well as a certification in educational leadership, from The College of New Jersey. “I am confident that Mr. Warren will do an excellent job with the support of his outstanding administrative team,” Galasso wrote in an email announcing his recommendation to PPS parents and staff on Monday. “I am confident he will be a strong advocate for students and will continue to develop relationships with the community.” Emphasizing the goal of maintaining “the traditional, outstanding Princeton High School academic and social experience” during this transition period, Galasso continued, “Mr. Warren will make that a top priority and will continue the innovative and student-centered approach to learning that is a hallmark of Princeton High School education.” Warren, who has been in charge of facilities at PHS and is currently in charge of the peer leadership groups, has “a great working knowledge of the students, which is very important,” Galasso said in a phone conversation Tuesday. “He also has significant understanding of the traditions and protocols of the school and a good relationship with faculty and staff, which should serve him well in the months ahead.” Galasso added that at the December 15 BOE meeting he would be discussing the formal process and criteria for selecting a permanent principal for PHS. He suggested that the process should be complete and the new principal in place by July 2021. Baxter, who was assistant principal for seven years at PHS before becoming principal in the fall of 2019, will be taking over the principal position at Randolph Continued on Page 7
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Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Second COVID Wave, Holiday Spike Threaten Princeton, the state of New Jersey, and the whole country continue to battle the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as residents and health officials await news of possible post-Thanksgiving outbreaks and brace for additional challenges in the upcoming holiday season. The Princeton Health Department on Monday, November 30, reported 58 new cases of COVID-19 in Princeton in the past two weeks, surpassing the previous record 14-day total of 55 cases for November 11-24. For the past week, 30 new cases were reported. “We are going to see a jump in the number of cases this week through next week,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser. “In fact we already are, and so is the rest of New Jersey. This is going to be a result of both the holiday and test reporting being delayed, but also a result of the increased travel and person-to-person exposure during Thanksgiving.” Princeton Press and Media Communications Director Fred Williams added, “The overall impact on our infection rate may not be fully apparent until mid-December,” but he went on to express optimism that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s recent tightening of restrictions on outdoor gatherings and suspension of high school ad club sports might mitigate the spread
over the next month. Grosser continued, “We are urging the public to continue to closely monitor the symptoms and avoid large gatherings, especially in the 10-14 days after the Thanksgiving holiday.” Princeton health officials continue to divide their time between contact tracing and preparing to distribute the initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The Princeton Health Department has been notified that the first deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine will
be directly distributed to health care facilities at the end of December, according to Grosser, who anticipates that the general population will have access to the vaccine in the first or second quarter of 2021. The local health department has been working with state health officials in compiling educational materials on the vaccines to distribute in the coming months. “It is going to be extremely important to lay out all of the facts for residents so they can Continued on Page 7
Holiday Market Days This Weekend Are All About Shopping Local
Those cozy little chalets that popped up on Black Friday at locations around downtown Princeton are part of the municipality’s efforts to encourage patronage of local stores during the holiday season. Shopping local is key to the future of a district that has been suffering during the pandemic. The Winter Village, and special Holiday Market Days this weekend, are designed to get shoppers into the businesses and onto the streets, away from the big box stores. A committee of representatives from the municipality, the Princeton Merchants Association, the Arts Council of Princeton,
and Princeton University has been collaborating on the project. While several popular businesses have closed during the pandemic, including Brooks Brothers on Palmer Square, Kitchen Kapers on Hulfish Street, and Bon Appetit in the Princeton Shopping Center, 27 are participating in this weekend’s Holiday Market Days. That’s up from 18 last year. “I felt really good about the amount of traffic I saw in town last weekend – not just people, but bags,” said Princeton Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, who is on the committee. “The retailers seem to Continued on Page 11
SIGN OF THE SEASON: The Palmer Square Tree Lighting was virtual this year, but the 33,000 bulbs on the 70-foot Norway spruce tree will continue to light up the night and enchant visitors throughout the holiday season . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
